The Chosen One
by kawaiibritt
Summary: Princess Winry Rockbell is holding a tournament that will decide who her husband will be. Will she have to marry the one she hates? What happens when she falls in love before the winner is announced? Ch.16 up!
1. Tournament Announced

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist

The Chosen One

_He embraced me, with my head resting against his chest. I could feel his warmth around my body. He also smelled really good. It felt so good finally being out of danger, and being held in my true love's arms._

"_I'll always be here to protect you," he whispered into my ear, making me feel all tingly inside._

"_Winry…" I heard off in the distance. My name was repeated several times until I heard…_

"Princess Winry! Wake up already!"

I opened my eyes, hoping to find him in front of me, but instead it was my best friend, Rose. What? That was all a dream? But if felt so real! I've been having many dreams lately, about that boy. I've never seen his face, though. He was always so nice to me and he was so pure inside. And for some reason I always called him my true love.

Well, I hope to find the meaning of these dreams soon, if there even is one.

"Hello Rose. A fair day it is," I spoke as I got up and opened the white silk curtains to reveal the outside's beauty. I love nature, especially flowers, so whenever I have free time, which is rarely, I like to go outside and work on my small garden.

"Not to be rude princess, but we don't have time to admire "the outside". We need you to get ready for the prince's presence."

To tell you the truth, I had no idea what she was talking about. No one informed me about the prince coming. Oh, how I hated him. He thinks he's so royal and superior, when he is actually a huge slob and a jerk! No manners, whatsoever, even around his fiancé, which unfortunately, is me, Winry Rockbell. Wow, how lucky am I?

Here is the way things work around here: You marry a prince, do as he wishes, order poor people around, have children, and then have them take your spot. Great, just great.

Not.

I mean, what kind of system is that? It wasn't fair at all! It's just the way things work around here, though. I wanted that to change. Little did I know that I would be the one to change it.

I sighed, "Ugh, do I have to see that slime?'

"Now, now princess, let's not be hasty," Rose said.

"How can I not?"

"I think he's a very good man."

All I could do was stare at her. I hope she wasn't sick because that's not something a normal human being would say. Well, at least in my book.

"You know he doesn't treat a lady with well, respected manners."

"I know, but he is still sweet in heart, princess."

"Bitter is more like it," I mumbled. I know Rose was trying to comfort me about the marriage thing, but it was actually making me feel worst.

"Well, shall we pick out your dress?" Rose insisted as she opened my closet doors. As she scrambled through all the hundreds of dresses, I couldn't help, but ponder over who that man was in my dream. Maybe he was really nice and sweet, but very ugly looking or maybe he didn't even have a face. I was thinking some pretty dumb thoughts, I know, but then another idea popped into my head. Maybe he was real, and it's a sign I will meet him someday and fall in love and…ok, I was pushing it, but who knew?

"How about this dress, princess?" Rose asked, catching my attention.

"I can care less about what I wear. The prince means nothing to me, as I _despise_ him."

I could tell Rose was getting irritated. Well, I was just speaking the truth.

"We need to make you as beautiful as possible. We shall not embarrass you family. So let's put on a happy face as we move forward in life."

I just rolled my eyes at her since I couldn't come up with an answer to that. I went to take a look at the dress she chose out. It was quite beautiful. It was a light blue strapless dress with a white trim. I quickly slipped it on since I was running a bit late, not that I cared. I was just doing this for my mother and father, who are the king and queen. Disappointing them is not a smart thing to do, especially since they have the most power in this land.

Rose took forever doing my hair and make up. When she finished putting my long, blond hair into a tight bun, there was a knock on the door. Rose opened the door and greeted whoever it was with, "How may I help you, Madame?"

"I am here to inform you that the prince will be arriving shortly and that the king and queen want you to meet them in the main hall."

"Thank you, Madame. Will that be all?" I asked.

The woman nodded and left.

"Let's get going before the king and queen grow impatient," Rose insisted as she signaled me to walk out the door. Man, this was not cool. I bet we were going to announce the day of the wedding. I sighed as I walked out the door and glided through the halls. The castle was very fancy. You can see gold everywhere! The main colors here are red and gold. I guess people take those as royal colors. When I become queen, though, definite changes are happening. I want pure, light colors, like white, pink, and yellow. Light colors make me smile more. It gives you a happy mood.

I finally made my way towards the main hall where my parents awaited and my so called "prince charming". I smiled elegantly towards the three while holding one side of my dress. I curtsied, and greeted, "My Prince Jin, how nice to see you again." NOT! The prince gave me this wicked smile that scared the heck out of me.

"It's nice to see you too, Princess Winry. You look absolutely stunning! I see you dressed your best for my arrival," the prince said while kissing the top of my hand. You may seem like a gentleman, but you're actually an ugly, snob, despicable creature. I wanted to yell that to him so bad, but instead I giggled and said, "I always look my best when you're around." Sometimes I make myself want to puke.

"Thanks you for joining us today, Prince Jin, as we need to discuss the wedding plans, as well as the date," the queen said.

"Aw, yes, of course, the wedding! How I am honored to marry your beautiful daughter. I'm guessing she got her good looks from you."

He was frustrating me so much. I know exactly what he's doing. He's luring my parents into a trap, showing that he is good enough for me and then BAM! He's rich and has all the power. Of course, as gullible as my parents are, his plan was working. We all walked into the dining room; where we all sat down to discuss the wedding plans. You could tell how giddy I was.

Yeah right.

I really didn't want to marry this guy. I had to think up something and fast.

"I have already chosen where you two shall wed," my mother started, "and the decorations are also picked out. We just need to plan what day it shall be."

The prince blurted out, "As soon as possible!"

My parents laughed at this, even though I didn't find it funny at all.

"Well, my dear sir. We still have to make our retirement day and many other things."

The prince grunted and cursed under his breath. Now I found this funny. I laughed very lightly, but the prince heard me.

"What on earth are you laughing at?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," I said as innocently as possible, though the prince continued to glare at me. Go ahead, don't like me. Just go away! There was an intense silence until my father broke it moments later, "Well, I was thinking maybe four months." The prince, of course, started complaining about how that was too long. As my parents and he were debating, I was trying to come up with ideas to get the prince off my back. Then it hit me.

"I don't think he deserves me," I suddenly spoken up.

"I say, what are you talking about?" the king asked. The prince just stared blankly at me. I found this amusing.

I continued, "What I'm saying is I don't think he is man enough."

"Not man enough?" the prince infuriated.

"Well, not until you prove it to me."

"What exactly are you suggesting, daughter?" the queen asked.

I stood up and cleared my throat, just to make the moment seem more dramatic and said, "I am proposing a tournament. A tournament where men from all over the country compete in fighting matches and whoever wins will be worthy enough to be my husband." Now, I wasn't all that confident that this was going to work, since women don't have all that much power, so even though I'm the princess, it doesn't mean what I say will happen.

"Honey, you know you have to marry a prince," my mother reminded me.

"Well, things need to change. I mean, after all, I want to feel safe and protected," I retorted.

The prince protested, "I am strong enough to protect you! And I certainly do not need to prove it!"

"If you're so sure you'll be able to protect me, why don't you do the tournament? You scared your going to lose? You scared of a little competition?" I know, I'm pushing it, but it felt so good watching him squirm.

"What?" he asked, trying to sound all innocent. Well, it's not going to work on me buddy! "Of course I'm not scared! I just don't think it is necessary wasting our time on such a thing. I mean, I will obviously win."

I hate him, have I ever mentioned that?

"Well, I'm not going to marry you unless you win!" I yelled.

Then my dad clapped his hands together to grab our attention.

"It's settled then. We will have a tournament. Men from all over the country shall come and fight and whoever wins overall will marry my daughter!" he confirmed.

Oh my god. I can't believe it! It worked, it actually worked! I just hope whoever wins isn't as dopey as this loser. Speaking of the devil, you should have seen his face. He just stared at me like an idiot. My parents left the room, leaving me and the jerk here. You could tell he was mad, REAL mad. I started my way towards the door until a hand was placed on my shoulders. I should have known.

I gulped, "Excuse me, Prince Jin, but I have important business to attend to so…" but I stopped since I knew he wasn't buying it. Now his jerk side was about to unleash upon me.

"You stupid, little girl. I know what you're trying to pull."

"Gee, congratulations! Would you like an award for that?"

I knew he didn't like that remark, but hey, I didn't like him so, who cares?

"I want to make a deal with you," he suggested still trying to forget about my last comment.

Want to know what I did next? I spat on his shoe. Yeah, I know, not very lady-like of me to do, but it's not like he was being a gentleman to me, so why be polite to him?

The look on his face after I did that, it freaked me out. I mean, it looked like he was going to kill me or something.

"I'm growing very impatient with you," he calmly said, even though you could see these ugly veins popping out of his neck. Now only if they really did pop…

"You obviously know that I'm after your parents' power and money."

I yawned, "I know, so that's why I want a guy who actually cares."

"Not all the guys in the tournament are fighting for you. They want exactly what I want."

"At least they won't be a complete snob!" I was getting tired of his complaining. I mean, I have better things to do right now, like ponder about the boy in my dream.

"Fine," he said.

Finally.

"But when I win, I will make you sorry, VERY sorry," he threatened. Then he walked out of the room and headed towards the exit of the castle. Man, I hope he loses or I'm screwed.

I sighed of relief that he was gone. I mean, he's such a pain in the butt.

"Winry," I heard my mother call out, "please join me in the family room."

Man, when can I get some time for myself over there and lounged onto the couch. Then I sat up quickly into a straight posture. Sometimes I forget my mom's the queen.

"Yes mother?"

"I was quite surprised of the tournament idea you brought up. I mean, I never thought you felt so strongly about having a husband."

"Yes mother, I do. I want to be able to have a nice, caring husband, like, like…like what normal people have. I want my man to be strong and have courage in able to protect me. I know that you're probably mad at me and…"

"Mad at you? That's the furthest thing from my mind. I'm proud of you."

"Really? Oh, I mean, thank you mother for agreeing with my tactics."

"Well, run along now, my daughter. Oh, by the way, get plenty of rest tonight; we shall be having a busy day tomorrow."

"What exactly do you mean by that, if I may ask?"

"We are meeting with the other princesses outside our land. I also want you to be on your best behavior since I know you don't like them."

She was right, I didn't like them. Now I know I sound like a people hater, but I'm really not. I just happen to be stuck with stuck up people. Is that really my fault?

"Yes mother, I will try."

"Thank you dear."

I ran towards my room, hoping too dodge anybody else that might want to talk to me, because I was so not in the mood. Then when I got to the main hall, a man was sitting down at a small table talking to one of our servants. I don't recall the table being in here, though, the last time I entered this room. The nosey person that I am, I went towards the table and asked, "May I ask what is going on here?"

Our servant nodded, "This is the tournament table, Princess Winry. This is where we have people sign up." Wow, word got out pretty fast.

"Oh, I see, and is this gentleman here to join?"

The man nodded as he stood up and bowed.

"If I may ask, princess, but was this tournament really your idea?"

Of course it was!

"Yes it was. I want a strong man to be my husband and someone with a kind and caring heart. Good luck to you sir, I look forward to seeing you fight."

"I'll need it; there are thousands of fighters outside, waiting in line."

"You're serious?"

"Yes milady," the servant spoke, "we never expected so many to join."

I was shocked, as well. I mean, we just announced it _15 _minutes ago! I hope these guys out there aren't complete dopes, because I had a feeling most of them will.

"I must be going now gentleman. Good day," I waved politely as I made my way towards the stairs. Wait, I want to see what these men look like and find out more about them. So I made my way back towards the table and ordered the servant, "Please go get me a chair. I want to meet these men." The servant nodded.

"What's with the change in mind, princess?" the gentleman asked.

"I am interested in seeing these men."

The servant came back and set the chair up for me. Then a massive load of guards came around me. Gee, can I get some personal space anywhere? Then Rose came over.

"Hello Princess Winry, I see that you're meeting the men joining the tournament."

"Yep, oh, and stop with the proper stuff, so just call me Winry."

"Cool, because I hate being proper. Hey, can I join you, you know, just to make sure these men are good enough for you?"

I chuckled, "Sure, please bring a chair for my kind friend."

The servant nodded and went to get another one.

The hours came and went as we signed up men. Many of them were kind, but it's probably because they want to act their best around me. I much rather them to be themselves, which I insisted to many, but they continued to give me the goody, goody act.

I met a few people who were quite interesting. A man name Roy Mustang seemed nice. He works for the military, trying his hardest to be on top of the ranks. I think he seems too power hungry, so I'm worried if he wins. He might use power in the wrong way.

Then there was a guy name Scar. He seemed to have a different motive in this tournament. We asked him where he was from and stuff, but he didn't answer. The two questions he answered were what his name was and a question I asked him.

"So Scar, what is your purpose in life?"

"I will soon find out." And with that he left.

"He's an odd fellow," I commented. Rose nodded in agreement.

"He's too quiet," Rose followed with my answer. I'm interested in seeing how he turns out.

Then a man walked up who caught my eye. He had long, blonde hair that was in a loose braid. He also had some gorgeous, amber eyes. It was weird, though. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my tongue on it.

"Hello sir, please tell me your name," James said. Oh yeah, the servant's name is James. We became quite good friends during the past few hours.

"Edward…Edward Elric," the man answered. He reached out his arm to shake James' hand. I saw it was made of automail. I wonder what happened to him. I couldn't help being nosy again and asked, "I see you have an arm made of automail."

He nodded and smiled at me. Man was he hot!

"May I take a look at it?" I asked.

"Uh, sure," he replied as he put him arm out in front of me. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I make and fix automail. You see, I occasionally sneak out of the castle to work at a small shop in the village. Well, I call it more of a hobby than work. I examined the automail carefully.

"OH MY, WHAT FINE WORK THIS IS! OH, HOW I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE THIS APART!"

Edward jumped back at my sudden outburst. So I get overly excited, I'm obsessed.

"Whoever made this has done a fair job, however, it could be made stronger, and a lighter piece would be easier during fighting," I started to explain.

"Wow, milady, you know a lot about automail."

I nodded, "I do make them after all. Please come back tomorrow, as I want to try out a new kind of automail on you."

He just stared at me. Ok, so I'm a girl. Girls can make automail, it not uncommon, right?

"Umm, not to be rude, but don't you have to ask permission first?"

"I'm the princess, so I don't have to ask permission all the time."

He gasped, "Wait, you're the princess?" He quickly bowed down. You know what's weird? He looked around my age. Usually older men want to marry me. By the way, I'm sixteen. I know it sounds like a young age, but that's another dumb thing the system has.

"How old are you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I am seventeen, princess."

"Oh…aren't you a little short for your age?"

His eye started spazzing out. Was that a bad thing to say?

"Who are you calling pipsqueak, dinky little boy!" he exclaimed.

"Whoa, aren't you a feisty one," I said, putting my hands on his shoulders to calm down.

He blushed, "Oh, sorry princess."

"It's ok. You can call me Winry. So will you meet me here around, let's say, 8 P.M.?"

"Ok, I'll be here," Edward agreed. We finished signing him up and he left. I grew tired from this so I sat up and curtsied to James. "I must be going now, bye James!" He waved back at me.

Rose then came up by me and whispered, "We need to have some girl talk." I nodded. She'll probably want to talk about some of the men we met today. We went and took a seat on my bed and started the little "girl talk".

Rose started off, "Wow, there were many cute men that signed up, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess," I slowly responded. Actually, though, only a few people appealed to me, like Edward. I also met Al Elric, which I'm guessing they're brothers or something. I'm not attracted to him or anything; I just want to find out more about him. I mean, his whole body was made of armor, after all. I'm going to have to ask Edward what happened tomorrow night. This thought made me shiver. I mean, I never had a boy over (besides Prince Jin) so this is kind of a new experience to me. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

"Earth to Winry," Rose said while snapping her fingers in front of me.

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and replied, "Sorry about that."

"It's cool. I know how you love to space out. Anyways, what about that Edward guy? He was so hot, and he seems like your type. I think you like him. I mean, after all, you did invite the guy to come over tomorrow night."

I sort of blushed at this. She was right, though. I had a crush on him. Ok, ok, a _HUGE _crush on him, but hey, I'm a girl. What do you expect? Ugh, this was so embarrassing that I felt like screaming in a pillow.

"So…like, do you like him or what?"

"Umm…well, uh, I guess."

Rose clapped her hands together. I can tell she just has the time of her life with these kinds of things.

"I knew it! We need to make you all pretty when he comes over and…"

"Actually," I cut her of, "I want to dress casually. Like a tank top and some sweat pants."

Rose looked at me like I was on something. I mean, there is nothing wrong with dressing casual and being comfortable. I just don't want him to have the impression that I'm all spoiled or something. I want to show him I'm like any other normal teenager. Though that might be hard because the fact is, I'm still the princess. Being a princess may seem really cool, but it seriously takes away your life. I mean, my schedule is always jam-packed with all this crap that half of it isn't even worth doing. Princess equals stressed-out teenage life.

"Why? Don't you want to impress the guy?" Rose asked.

"It will."

"Huh?" Rose questioned, scratching the back of her head since she was confused.

I laughed at this. I didn't exactly feel like explaining it to her, so I simply replied, "In ways you won't understand."

Rose seemed to ponder over my answer for a second, but shrugged it off, "Well, if you say so…"

Then I heard a little bell right, indicating that it was dinner time. Rose sighed, as well as me. I was too lazy to get up. Rose sighed for a different reason, though, "Aw, we're going to have to finish up this talk later."

I nodded as I sat up. Let me say, I'm having one of the worst headaches ever. Maybe eating would make me feel better. I started walking downstairs and towards the dining room. This room was quite different from the others. It was a very large room. In the middle was a long, dark-wooded table that could sit up to about sixty-people. It had a Roman theme to it. There were statues of people on the four corners of the room. The ceiling had a large painting of angels on it. It was a very elegant room. We particularly have this room the way it is because the chefs are from Rose so we wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible and make themselves feel at home.

I took a seat at one of the far sides of the table, while my parents both sat opposite of me. The annoying problem that this room has is that you have to practically yell at each other since you're pretty far away. I suggested for me to go sit by them, but no, we had to be proper. Oh yeah, yelling is proper.

Not.

Oh yeah, you can barely see them too. There was this huge flower vase in the middle of the table, so it pretty much covers them up. I never complained about this, though I should.

"Dinner is served," said one of our butlers as he set the food down in front of us, followed by a few others behind him. Unlike other royal families, we like getting our food all at once instead of a little entrée being served at a time. That takes too long.

It was surprisingly quiet tonight. I believe my parents were talking among themselves about the whole tournament thing. I didn't mind, though. I've been thinking a lot so it's not like it bothered me. I kept thinking about why Edward Elric seemed so familiar. It's like I've met him before, but then again I didn't. It was really weird. Now I couldn't wait until tomorrow night. I really needed some answers.

"Mother," I yelled, breaking the silence, "I'm having some company tomorrow night so my meeting with the princesses might have to be cut short."

"Oh, and who's coming over, dear?" my mother asked.

"I have invited a man named Edward Elric."

"A boy, huh?" my father said.

Oh no. I could tell they were taking this the wrong way.

"Why would you invite a boy, specifically tomorrow night when your mother and I are going to be away?"

"Away?" I asked.

"Don't act as if you don't know. You remember that when you have a meeting with the princesses, we meet up with there parents."

Oh yeah, now I remember. Great, now they're not going to trust me. I'm going to have to argue to get out of this are.

"I only invited him over so I could try on a new automail on him."

"Honey, you're still doing that stuff? I thought I told you to stop," my mother stated.

"Well, I didn't."

"Shouldn't you be doing more girly stuff, like dolls or something?"

I couldn't believe she just said that! I'm sixteen, _sixteen_! My mother can really annoy me, like she acts like I'm five.

"Mom, that's for little kids!"

"Well, it's certainly better than that…that dumb automail junk!"

This is where I draw the line.

"Junk? Do you even know what automail is? It's armor for people to wear when they are missing a part of their body. It helps people!" I exclaimed.

My mother was surprised by me. What does she expect?

"You should feel ashamed of yourself. While others may be playing dolls, I will be helping out the less fortunate with a hobby that I enjoy called automail. All I'm trying to do is make an arm and a leg that will help Edward. Yeah, that's right; he's missing an arm _and_ a leg!"

I was so cherishing this moment. My mom just started dumbfound at me. You could so tell that she was trying to hide what she felt, which was terribly bad. It was written all over her face. I wanted her to feel this way. I wanted her to know what less fortunate people go through.

My mother looked as if she was going to explode after a few moments. Instead, though, she stood up and left the room quietly. I believe I accomplished my task.

"You may have this man come over if you're only going to do that, but I want to meet him first," my dad said.

I nodded, smiling in victory, "Will do."

Then he left to go find my mother, leaving me alone in this big, dim-lighted room. That went a lot better than I thought. I continued eating, wondering how tomorrow will be.

Author's Note  
Hey everyone! Hope you liked this chapter. Please review! I'm interested in how you like the story so far. I'll try to update soon!  



	2. Edward's Company

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

The Chosen One

Ch.2

_I kept on running down a dark, cold alley. My breathing became harder as the minutes passed by. There was no end! I was bleeding heavily and my vision became blurry. What am I running away from? My running pace became slower and slower, until it got to a point where I couldn't go any further. I collapsed onto the floor, wincing in pain when I heard someone from behind. I panicked and started to shake uncontrollably. I hesitated from turning around, but once I did, I screamed. A man stood before me with a knife in his hand. I closed my eyes waiting for the end, but it never came. When I opened my eyes, I saw my true love blocking the knife. He saved me! He threw the knife out of his hands and socked him, knocking the guy unconscious. After that, he turned around to look at me. I didn't see all his face, just his eyes. Those amber orbs stared at me for the longest time. Then suddenly he bent down and leaned towards me. We came closer and closer…_

"Wake up girl!"

I opened my eyes, finding myself on the floor.

"Why did you push me off my bed?" I yelled. Seriously, that was not the best way to wake up.

"Well, you wouldn't wake up. That's all I could think of at the moment," Rose explained.

Then I remembered about my dream. Were we…no, no way we could have…oh my…WE WERE GOING TO KISS! My dreams just keep getting better and better! It just makes me so mad that I can't figure out who the guy is. At least, I saw his eyes, which were the most gorgeous ones I've ever seen. They looked quite familiar, though, but from where?

"We need you to get dressed quickly!" Rose exclaimed as she threw a dress at me.

I groaned, "Why?"

"The princesses have been here for at least an hour now! Oh, by the way, your parents met that one guy you invited over."

This grabbed my attention, "Wait…WHAT?"

"Yeah, they scheduled him to meet them this morning."

I guess I sort of started to freak out since I practically grabbed onto Rose's shirt and almost lifted her up in the air, "They didn't embarrass me, did they? Or scare them off? Oh, he probably thinks I'm this slime! He probably never wants to see me again…"

"Whoa!" Rose laughed nervously, "Calm down, would you? Everything went fine. They approve."

I sighed of relief. Phew! I thought they were going to lecture him or something about, like; the only way he could talk to me is when he's won the tournament. Trust me, they would do that.

I got ready as fast as I could and ran down to the mail hall. I bet my hair looks great right now after all that rushing!

Not.

I saw the princesses talking to one of the servants. Poor guy, he was probably being mauled by girl talk. I guess I owe him for keeping them busy.

"Hello gals!" I welcomed.

The three princesses turned around and squealed. Great, now it was my turn to be mauled on.

"Princess Winry! How nice to see you!" Princess Molly exclaimed. Princess Molly was about my height (5'2) and she had short, black hair and green eyes. She wore a long, white, turtleneck dress that reached down to her knees.

"It's nice to see you too, Princess Molly," I said.

"Gee, what took you so long?" Princess Umi asked, making no eye contact with me. Princess Umi is 5'5, has long, brown hair, and brown eyes. She wore a long, black dress with sparkles everywhere.

"Yeah, we've been waiting for, like, ever!" Princess Amy followed. She was about 5'3, had medium-lengthened, blonde hair that was put up in a tight bun. She had a short, pink dress on that had a white flower on the bottom right of it.

These two…I CAN'T STAND THEM! They hate my guts, which I don't mind because I hate theirs too. I give you two words…conceited brats. I mean, all they ever think about is themselves. They are quite excellent at annoying people, if you ask me.

"Sorry about that, I slept in a little later than usual."

"That's not an excuse," Princess Umi retorted.

Princess Molly said, "Well, it's ok. We all do sleep in occasionally."

Princess Amy laughed, "Me? Ha! Never do I miss my schedule and I always wake from slumber at the appropriate time."

"So you're telling me that you NEVER missed ANYTHING in your entire life?" I asked. I wasn't going to let her conceited side get by me.

"Never!" she answered confidently.

"I'm very disappointed in you. I recall you being late to the King's Ball, our last princess meeting, and the shopping trip we scheduled a few weeks ago," I pointed out.

"Late? I wasn't late; I simply had other things planned at the same time. As perfect as I am, I can't do everything at once."

See what I mean? Conceited! I mean, you would think these kinds of people are unreal. Ugh, I wanted to sock her so bad. Don't be surprised if she has a broken nose by the end of the afternoon.

Princess Umi then spoke, "That's enough ladies! Can we simply finish up our little meeting? I much rather be doing something else right now."

"Don't we all," I murmured.

"Well, whatever," Princess Amy shrugged.

"Let us sit down, we have things to talk about," I insisted. I led the princesses into the Pink Room, a.k.a The Princess Meeting Room. The name of the room pretty much explains it all. Everything is pink including the walls, floor, furniture; I'm talking about everything! It becomes very obnoxious, though. It needed another color, but no, the princesses complained to my parents for a pink room until they finally got their way. Those dumb, spoiled, little brats will get it someday.

"So," Princess Molly started off, "I heard you're holding a tournament, Princess Winry."

I nodded, "Yes I am."

"Interesting…I mean, what was wrong about marrying Jin?"

"Yeah, he is the hunkiest prince of them all," Princess Umi said.

I laughed at this one. Yeah, he might be a hunk, but to me, he's a jerk in the inside.

"I don't like him at all; I want a man who actually cares about me."

All the girls gasped.

"You mean…this whole thing is about you rejecting Prince Jin!" Princess Molly exclaimed.

"YOU IDIOT!" Princess Amy practically screamed in my ear.

"Excuse me, but have you ever met the guy before?"

"We did at the King's Ball. He was so nice and sweet…"

"As if!" I interrupted. These girls had no idea.

"What do you mean as if? He's the best prince of them all!" Princess Molly argued. See, even Molly is being sucked into this black hole.

"Whatever, you girls think what you want to, because read my lips..._I HATE HIM_!" I shouted. I also made sure I said "I hate him" very slowly so they can understand how I feel.

The girls just stared blankly at me, though. I looked back confidently, showing them that I meant every word I said. They didn't say anything for the last two minutes, which got pretty annoying. I tapped my foot, impatiently, hoping they would get the message. They didn't, though.

"What are you guys looking at?" I snapped at them. They all shook their heads from deep thought and regained their posture.

"Wow, I never realized how strongly you hated Prince Jin," Princess Molly said.

Out of no where, Princess Umi randomly started to laugh uncontrollably. I wonder what her problem is.

"This is great!" she yelled in excitement, "That means I have a chance with him!"

"What!" I exclaimed.

"What's the matter, I thought you said you hated him, changing your mind now?" Princess Umi smirked.

"Of course not!" I came back with. "But don't you already have a husband?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

Ok, there was something _extremely_ wrong with her. I mean, cheating on your husband, that's so wrong in so many ways. I just don't understand these girls.

"Hello? You have a loving husband and now you're going after Prince Jin? What in the world is wrong with you?" I asked, angrily.

She just shrugged. That's right, all she did was shrug. Nothing else! I looked at the other two princesses to see there reactions, which was surprisingly different.

"No, he's _mine_!" Princess Amy yelled.

"No way, I want him!" Princess Molly shot back. Now they were just fighting over him. I just don't get it. What do they see in Prince Jin? All I see is this monster just wanting to unleash his rage out on me, but hides it in while around others. Just wait, once they see the real him, they will be begging for forgiveness. Sounds mean, right? I'm just being honest here.

I was getting pretty irritated with all this bickering so I left the room. I think I'm going to go to my garden. It's a peaceful place, probably the best around the castle. The best part is…_no one_ knows about it. Not even Rose, sadly enough. The only problem about it is since the castle so big, it takes FOREVER to get there. It's very small too since I had to find a spot where no one would notice it. I went towards the west side of the castle which took about five minutes, then ran through the courtside, snuck past the guards by the library, and then run down along the tile floor outside until you get to a small gate. Inside there is my cute, little garden, complete with a white bench in the middle with white gardenia's surrounding it, and flowers growing along the border of my garden.

I brought a blanket out and laid it on the grass that is between the flowers and the bench. I rested down on it and started going into my thinking mode, as usual.

I was so excited about Edward coming! I mean, first off, I get to try on this new automail that was recently made on him, which I have been _dying _to put on somebody. No one comes to me these days. There's a huge automail shop right across the street from mine, and so that puts out my business. After all, my shop is only five times smaller than the other shop, no big deal. But then they have these advertisements everywhere. They have clubs, an exercising room where you can try out your new automail, or just work out, and a nice restaurant inside. I could ask to get a better shop, but remember this is also a secret.

Second, I get to know him better. I mean, how can I not be interested? He has an arm and a leg missing, has a hot body (I saw him lift up his shirt for a second and saw that he had some nice abs), and he has a brother (or at least I believe it's his brother) who is made of armor. His life must be so exciting! Mine is not even close to fun. All I do everyday is go to my parents meetings, hang out with the princesses (which I have no idea what they're doing), do tours of the castle, and pretty much anything else my parents tell me to do. My life is a huge schedule that I have barely anytime for myself. Tonight, on the other hand, nothing was planned, so it worked out perfectly. I just can't wait!

My stomach started to growl. I was sure hungry! I got up and headed back towards the pink room to see how everyone was doing, or to see if they even noticed I was gone. It would be rude to my guests if I ate by myself without offering. Well, I guess it was pretty rude leaving without telling them. Oh well!

I entered the Pink Room and saw that no one was there. I turned towards the guards and asked, "Excuse me, but where did all the princesses go off to?"

"They decided to leave, Princess Winry. I'm very sorry we didn't tell you before, but we couldn't find you," he answered. I don't get why all our guards don't look at me when I speak to them. They think I'm going to bite their heads off or something. I even sometimes find sweat dripping down their foreheads or their breaths get loud.

"Apology accepted, but next time, please look at me while we speak. It's rude to just look straight past someone." With that, I walked away.

I looked at the clock and saw it was 3 o'clock. Now I have to find something to do. I mean, everyone was gone, except for the guards. Even Rose left to take care of some errands and she's going to visit her family. I was pretty much on my own for the rest of the day. I had fun playing with the guards, as surprising as this may sound. Since they stand so still like statues, I would go up to them and try to make them laugh. I got one to crack, but he gained his composure and became himself again.

I then went to the living room, plopped myself down on the couch, and started watching some TV. There was nothing on, but soap opera's. Those shows make me want to gag, so I turned it off. I must have dozed off because the next time I opened my eyes, it was 7:30 P.M. I had to hurry quickly!

I went over to the maid's room and told them to make sure everything was clean. I ran up to my room and quickly changed into a pair of gray sweats and a pink tank top. The gray pants showed my curves so, you know, I could show off a little of my body. Ok, ok, so I want the guy to be impressed. What can I say?

I then went to my dresser and put my hair into a loose bun. I put on some pink eye shadow and lip gloss. As if right on cue, there was a knock on my door. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. Perfect.

I answered the door and there awaited a guard, and as usual, he looked straight passed me. I looked behind me and then back, "No one's behind me, I'm right here."

That got him to look down at me. He swallowed nervously and said, "Edward Elric has arrived, Princess Winry. He is waiting for you down in the main hall."

I nodded, "Thank you."

I hurried towards the main hall, which almost caused me to slip, and there stood Edward. He had on a black shirt with a red cape covering it, along with some black pants. His hair was the same as yesterday. He looked totally hot, standing there. Waiting…for me! I giggled at this. The guards all raised their eyebrows at me. I shrugged in answer. I drew in a deep breath. Here it goes. I walked as casually as I could over to him. He looked over my way and stared in awe, which I was quite flattered by. I waved and smiled back at him.

"It's nice to see that you came, Edward," I welcomed.

"Of course, Princess Wi…I mean Winry," he stuttered, still staring at me.

I hooked my arm with his and we started walking towards the dining hall. Sadly enough, we didn't talk that much on the way there. He just kept looking down, staring in deep thought.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked out of curiosity.

He shook his head, "Oh nothing. I'm sorry."

"You look so tense, lighten up a bit," I said, playfully punching him in the arm. He chuckled. I hope it wasn't going to be like this all night.

"Sorry I'm acting this way, I mean, you are the…"

"The princess, I know, I know," I finished up for him. "But I don't want you to be all nervous and stuff. Just think of me as if I'm a normal, teenage girl, just wanting to be your friend."

He then gave me this evil smile. I knew exactly what he was thinking. So I took out my wrench, the one I always have by me, and hit him on top of the head.

"Not that way!" I yelled. I kind of liked the way he smiled at me, though. I got shivers up and down my spine. I couldn't help it, but blush. I turned my head the other way so he wouldn't see me.

We made our way towards the dining hall and sat down, side by side, if I may point out.

"What kind of food do you like?" I asked.

He took a minute to think about this and replied, "Do you have rice"

"Of course we do!"

I turned towards the butler and he nodded and left.

It was so weird sitting here with Edward. Like I said before, I never had a guy over besides Prince Jin.

"So how is it like being the princess?" he suddenly asked. I blinked a few times at him. I slapped myself in the inside for that. I mean, I probably looked so dumb just staring at him all dully.

I sighed, "It's no picnic."

"Why's that? I mean, you do get pretty much everything you want."

"I can care less about money or expensive things my parents buy me. I miss out on so much. I don't have a normal life. All the experiences I could have had with friends and stuff, is out the window. I would give anything, and I mean _anything_ to be a normal, teenage girl."

"Oh," is all he said.

The rice bowls were then placed in front of us.

"Dinner is served."

For a small guy, he eats a lot! It's only been two minutes and he's on his 5th bowl! I couldn't help, but smile, though. He looked so adorable! I wonder what it feels like to be in his arms…

"This food is great!" he gleefully said.

"Glad to hear that. Our chefs are the best ones out there, you know."

The butler then came over to Edward and asked, "Would you like a booster seat?"

This made me spit out the soda I was drinking. I was laughing so hard, I fell on the floor without realizing it. I looked over to see Edward's reaction. He was steaming! This made me chuckle even more.

"Who are you calling shrimp boy!" he exclaimed.

The butler jumped back from him and quickly walked away.

"Come on," I hooked my arm with his again, "let's go work on your automail."

He was about to say something when I put my finger over his lips. I saw him blush, which was so hot. I led him towards the workshop, which was right by my room so it's easier for me to get from there to my room if I ever need supplies or something. My workshop is like any other one. It has nails and screws all over the table, a desk with paper on top and cabinets. I have a toolbox and a few chairs in there too.

"I need to first measure you," I explained, getting out my tape measurer. The next thing that happened is so not what I expected. He took off his shirt. Yeah, that's right, his red cape and the black shirt, and let me tell you, it was a beautiful sight.

"I hope you don't mind," he said, noticing that I was staring at him, "I just thought it was so hot in here."

"It…it's fine," I stammered. I finished up measuring his arm, trying not to get too distracted by his body. Seriously, I even had to wipe slobber that started dripping out of my mouth! I also measured his leg, making sure I did it as slowly as possible since this was probably the closest I was going to get to him. I went towards the desk and wrote the measurements down. When I turned around, I tripped over one of the tools on the floor (yeah, I know, not a smart thing to do, leaving tools on the floor). I was about to hit the floor, face-flat when I felt arms around me. I looked up and saw that Edward has caught me. Whoa! This was really weird. I mean, yeah, it felt great that he had his arms around me and stuff, but this looks oddly familiar. I felt like that we've been in this position before. I stood up, as sad as it is, but I didn't want him to see that I was enjoying it.

"Thank you, Edward," I said.

"Your welcome and you can call me Ed."

I wanted to hug him so badly, embrace him in my arms and smell the wonderful scent he was giving off. I don't know how, but I controlled myself. I then started looking through some drawers for some materials. Uh oh, I forgot, I didn't buy the new automail yet! How stupid can I get? I remember seeing it and taking a look at it, but I was supposed to come back and get it because it was almost dinner time.

"I am so sorry, but I can't get started on it, I forgot to buy the automail. I'm so dumb and stupid!" I yelled, hitting myself on the forehead.

"It's fine, I can come back again later and get it," he insisted.

"Ok, I'll call you when it's ready."

"Well, I guess I'll see you later. Bye Winry and thank you."

He started walking out the door when I subconsciously yelled, "Wait!"

Ed stopped and turned to look at me.

"Um, I heard there was going to be a storm tonight so would you like to stay the night?" I blurted out.

Where's a knife? This was the perfect time to kill myself. What the hell am I thinking?

"Actually, that would be great, since I live pretty far away,"

I…I…I don't even know what to say.

"Ok, I'll make sure the guest room is in order."

I signaled one of the guards to do so. I have no idea what I'm doing. I couldn't believe I just offered him to spend the night. A boy, in my house, spending the night…I'm so screwed if my parents find out. Good thing they won't be back until morning.

--------------------------------  
Edward has been here for several hours now. We've been getting along really well. I haven't asked him about his brother or his arm and leg yet. I felt like it would ruin the night since it was probably sad. I mean, loosing an arm and a leg isn't exactly the greatest thing in the world. We were sitting on the couch in what I like to call the "chill room" since, you know, all you do is chill in here. We were watching movies, eating popcorn, and we were enjoying each other's company, or at least I was enjoying his. 

The doorbell suddenly rang. I looked at the clock and saw it was 1:30 A.M. in the morning. Who could possibly be here at this time? I got up and walked towards the main hall, with Edward following me. I looked to see who it was. I gasped.

This was not good.

Author's Note  
Hello again! Hope you guys liked this chapter! I left you guys with a cliffhanger! Muwahahahaha! Don't worry, though, I'll update soon. I was really surprised to see how many reviews I received. Thanks so much, you guys are awesome! Please review!


	3. Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

The Chosen One

Ch.3

"Prince Jin? What on earth are you doing here?" I asked nervously. I was so not happy to see him.

"Hello Princess Winry, I came by because…" but then he stopped. And I knew exactly why. All I could think of was...

Oh crap.

"And who is this?" he asked while coming towards Ed. He started to inspect him. I couldn't believe he was here, especially at a time like this. I felt so bad for Ed, I really did. Whenever Prince Jin is around, you can never expect anything good.

"This gentleman? Oh yes, his name is Edward Elric," I replied as clearly as possible. I was pretty scared. I mean, I knew he was not going to approve of him staying the night. He's probably going to beat the crap out of him. I have to think of something before he blows.

"If I may ask, what business does this man have here at this time of night?"

"Excuse me, but what business do _you _have at this time of night?" I spat back.

"I won't answer until I know who this Edward Elric is!" he roared. I looked towards Edward and gave him a look as if I were to say "Sorry about this." He nodded. I knew he could tell this guy was trouble. Finally, someone who understands!

Ed then spoke, "She has invited me over to fix my automail arm and leg and since it was getting late, she offered for me to stay the night. I kindly accepted her offer. Plus, there is a huge storm outside."

"And," I continued off his sentence, "How did you manage to get here through that terrible storm outside?"

However, Prince Jin did not answer. He simply glared at Ed, while Ed glared back. I'm glad to see that those two are getting along. I could tell that Prince Jin was going to explode soon. Then a smirk appeared on Ed's mouth, and he started to laugh. I have no idea why.

"Let me guess," Ed spoke, "you're Prince Jin, the reason why this whole tournament was made."

Whoa.

"That's not the way you speak to a prince and your future king," Prince Jin snapped back.

"You wish!"

"That's enough!" I yelled. Why do men have to be like this? I just can't understand their nature. I grabbed Prince Jin's hand and started to lead him out of the room.

"Excuse us for a second," I said to Ed. He nodded.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled at Jin.

"I never got to finish my deal with you a couple of days ago," Jin slowly said, making me feel very nervous. I mean, this guy's a creep!

"I told you I don't care already, now if you excuse me…" I said while trying to sound confident, but he wasn't buying it. Not one single bit.

"This isn't a matter of whether you care or not," he smirked. He started to stare at me with those eyes. I wanted to run, but his intent look sucked me in. I couldn't move! I was so scared and frightened. And the worst thing was…

I couldn't do anything about it.

I mean, even if I screamed, Ed nor the guards would be able to hear me since the room I'm in has sound-proof walls. He crept closer to me, as I backed away slowly. I could feel sweat dropping down my face, and Jin could sense how I felt. He started laughing at me, _laughing_. Anger grew inside me, but I still couldn't bring myself up to do anything about it. Damn! I just had to go and ask the guards to leave when we came in here!

I finally drew out the courage to say, "What are you planning to do about it?"

"I wouldn't speak to someone like that when they have your best friend hostage," he sneered.

I gasped. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move, I couldn't do anything, but stare at him. I can't believe he's doing this. He has my best friend…under hostage…and put into danger. What am I to do?

"You're black-mailing me?" I choked out.

"I guess I am."

He continued to walk closer to me, as I continued to walk back. But then my back ended up against the wall, where I was trapped. I felt like screaming, punching him, kicking him, and getting as far away as I could, but I was too scared! You would think being scared would make you want to do something about it, but the feeling you get…it's like you're stuck in a small space, where it's hard to breathe, and it's impossible to get out.

He then put his hand on the wall, trapping me even more, and his other hand on my chin. His face was only a few inches away from me. I could feel him breathing, and let me tell you, if this was a guy I liked, I would have totally loved it. He was pretty hot, after all, but when you're put into the position that I'm in now, all that is clear is reality, and reality is that he's out to get me, or more in the likes of my mother and father's money and power.

"Get away from…" I started to say, but was interrupted by his lips. I couldn't believe it, he was kissing me! I tried to push him away, but he's too strong. This can't be happening. I struggled as much as I could, but still no luck. He started to deepen the kiss, which made me feel even more uncomfortable. But he started to get too far so I kneed him where it hurts. He quickly backed away, yelling in agony. This was my chance to make a run for it! I started towards the door, but then his hand grabbed my shoulder. I tripped and almost stumbled over, but Prince Jin yanked my arm up and pulled me towards him.

"Now you will go over to Edward and tell him to leave and to never come back again. And you will not mention a word of this to him, or else I'm afraid your best friend…" He didn't need to finish that sentence since he knew I got the message. He signaled me to do it right now, so I quickly did as he asked me to do. I opened the door back to the main hall to find Ed talking to one of the guards. He looked back at me and waved. I gave him the best smile I could, which wasn't that great.

"Um, Edward, something has come up. I need you to leave," I slowly mumbled. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. He could tell that something was wrong. I went up to him and pulled him into a hug, which I may add, felt really good. I could smell his scent much better in this position, but this wasn't the time to be admiring him. And that wasn't the reason why I embraced him.

"Listen to me Ed," I whispered as quickly as possible, "meet me at my automail shop, directly across from Kiki's Automail Shop at 3 A.M. sharp this morning." And with that I pulled away. I had the guards escort him outside. He turned around to give one last glance at me. He gave me a look that seemed to have said, "I will." Then Prince Jin turned me around.

"Meet me tomorrow at my palace, as we will talk over the details. And remember, if you attempt anything, your best friend will suffer," he threatened quietly enough where the guards wouldn't hear. I gulped. I knew this wasn't going to be good, but I wasn't going to let him get away with it. Jin also left, but turned around and gave me an evil, flirty smile. I shivered from this, making my heartbeat quicken.

I was then left by everyone, even the guards, all by myself in this room. I felt so shut in and alone. Was Prince Jin crazy enough to hurt my best friend, just so he could be the king? Oh, I don't even want to think about what he would do if he became the king, especially to me. I sat down on the floor in the middle of the room, letting these thoughts drain into me. I mean, how could I have let this happen? I shouldn't blame this on myself though, since I had no way of knowing. I inhaled a deep breath, and blew out, relieving me of some of my stress.

I stood up and started pacing back and forth across the room. I had to think of a way to save Rose. That is the whole reason why I asked Ed to meet me at my automail shop. There was absolutely no way I was letting Jin get away with such an awful scheme, and if he hurts my best friend in any way, he will wish that he never messed with me.

I guess there wasn't much to plan. I mean, I sneak into the palace, try to find Rose, and get her out of there. But what if I get caught? If the guards catch us, I'll explain to them what happened and hopefully they will understand, and if Prince Jin catches us, well, I just need to hope it will never come to that.

You're probably also thinking why I scheduled Ed to see me at my automail shop at 3 A.M. instead of now. Well, I have this feeling Prince Jin is going to be watching me for a while. I bet you he's still around, waiting for me to make a move. I didn't want to lead him on to that, so hopefully he'll think that I'm going along with his plan.

I'm pretty exhausted from all that has happened. I went up to my room and fixed my alarm clock to go off at 2:40 A.M. This should give me enough time to walk over to my shop. I crawled into the covers and let sleep take over me. Hopefully some rest will make me feel a little better than right now.

------------------------------

_I snuck outside the castle to take a walk. It was a beautiful day outside. I inhaled in the clean air, while admiring the beauty outside the castle walls. I strolled around the village and wondered off into the meadows. I bent down and picked up some flowers and held them to my chest. _

"_This is where I belong," I whispered to myself._

_I reclined back on the grass and put my hands behind my head. I closed my eyes and started to relax. A few moments later, I felt the grass beneath me disappear. I opened my eyes not to see a beautiful day, but a stormy one. Lightning flashes surrounded me as I laid there. I tried to get up, but I was glued. And then I saw him, staring at me with those eyes. I was trapped again. I squirmed, trying to get up, but I couldn't! I screamed…_

------------------------------

_Beep! Beep!_

I shot up, gasping for air. I bent over to turn the stupid, annoying alarm clock off. That dream. I…I wasn't saved…I wasn't saved by my true love. I…I was so scared. I slapped myself on the head. It was just a dream! Why am I freaking out about this? I looked at the clock and saw that five minutes passed! I quickly shot up and headed towards my window. That's right, I sneak out of the house the old fashion way. I tied the rope onto my lamp, which is heavy enough to support my weight. I'm pretty petite anyways. I threw the rope outside and slid down it inaudibly. I started running towards my automail shop as fast as I could. Great, the storm is still going, just my luck.

I finally made it after falling and slipping all the time. My legs and arms were full of scrapes and I was drenched with water. I was just doing so great right now!

Not.

I opened the door and there sat Edward on the couch. I sighed of relief. You have no idea how grateful I was to see that he came.

"Thank goodness you're here!" I exclaimed.

He suddenly ran up to me with a look of worry. I saw that he was looking at my scratches.

"It's nothing," I told him, "nothing to worry about."

"Of course it's something! Do you have any first aid kits?" Edward asked while looking around for one.

"Bottom drawer in my desk," I pointed.

He pulled the kit out and came over to me. He had me sit on the couch while he started to bandage me up. I don't know why, but it became harder for me to breathe from his touch. Oh no, I'm blushing! I turned my face around to hide it.

"There, all finished," he said while standing up. "Why did you want me to come here anyways?"

"It's Prince Jin, he blackmailed me," I started off. "He has my best friend! He's threatening her! He wants to be the king, and he'll do anything to get his way." Oh great, now I'm crying! I let my tears flow, though. Crying has a way of comforting me. Ed then pulled me into his arms and embraced me. I buried my head into his shoulder. He patted my back and kept saying "Shhh," or "Everything will be ok." He put his hands on my cheeks and positioned my face to look at his. I was still crying, but I also felt hope. There was something about Ed that calmed me. His voice was so soothing.

"Let's go," Edward grasped my hand and led me towards the door. He grabbed an umbrella by the door and handed it to me.

"Umm, ok," was all I could say.

"Do you have any idea where Rose might be?" he asked while we were walking down the streets.

"Somewhere in Jin's palace, but I'm still not sure," but then it hit me. "His prison, of course! How could I forget?"

"Well, let's hurry," he said. I nodded in agreement. Don't worry Rose; we're coming to get you.

Prince Jin's palace is thankfully not too far away. It's about an hour walking distance. Let me tell you, that hour was the best! We talked a lot, which I didn't mind. I told him more about the princess kind of life, but this time the advantages that it has. I mean, I do get everything I want, I get to make up rules (or at least sometimes), and it's really fun to sneak out.

"How often do you sneak about?" he questioned.

"Too often, I mean, the castle is so boring! We may have a huge place, but that doesn't mean there is stuff to do! So I go out to my automail shop, though business is dying because Kiki's Automail Shop is so much better than mine."

"Don't be down because of them. Winry, you have a great gift, you shouldn't let other people get in the way of that."

All I could do was stare at him in awe. That is seriously one of the best things a guy has ever said to me. I started to shiver from the rain, so he took off his red coat and put it over me. How sweet! He then put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer in. I could tell my face was turning all red, but the feeling was immense. I leaned my head against his shoulder, feeling his warmth encircle my body.

We at last met our destination. I was really scared. I hope Rose isn't hurt! I pointed to where the prison was and we started to head towards it. There were guards everywhere! Then an idea popped into my head. I walked up to one of the guards and put on the biggest smile.

"Hey there handsome," I said with a seducing voice. The guard started to blush. I went up to him and put my face inches away from him. I bet Ed was looking at me like how much of a weirdo I am.

"You smell delicious," I licked my lips. The other guard just stared at me. Then at the right moment, I kicked him and socked him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Then Edward knocked the other guy out.

"Ok, now we need to get changed into these," I persisted. Edward was still bewildered at what I just did, but he dropped it and we both quickly changed our clothes, of course, looking the other way of one another. We then started going towards the prison once again. We went inside and found a few guards in there. One of the guards stared at us suspiciously, and then walked up to Ed and asked, "Aren't you a bit short for this job?"

"Who are you calling a tiny, little hamster!" he started to spaz out.

I stepped in between them and sternly said, "While you do your job, we'll do ours." I also made my voice sound manly since I didn't know if there were girl guards here or not. With that, I pulled Ed's arm and led him towards the door that hopefully Rose was in. We walked into the door and saw Rose in one of the cells tied up. I opened the door with the keys that the guard I knocked out had. I quickly went up to Rose and untied her and took the tape away from her mouth. She gasped for a breath, and started to cry.

"Get away from me or I'll…" but then she saw that it was me, "Winry! What are you doing here? Get away, it's too dangerous to be around here!"

"I wasn't going to just leave you here!" I told her. All of a sudden, she jumped on me and gave me a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Princess Winry!" she cried. I pulled her away from me and smiled.

"It's ok; now let's get you out of here before…" I started to walk out.

"…Prince Jin gets here." I know that voice from anywhere. I turned around and saw Prince Jin standing there…with a gun in his hand…pointing towards Rose's head. He had Roes under his hold, with his arm around her neck.

"I told you not to do anything you're going to regret," he growled. Edward ran to my side so he wouldn't do anything to me.

"Let her go!" Ed roared. Jin just laughed.

"And why would I do that?"

I started to cry again, "Please don't hurt her!"

Prince Jin smirked, "I sense fear in your eyes Winry. Why do you make this so hard on yourself?"

"Please don't do this Jin! I'll do anything, _anything_! Just don't hurt my best friend!" I screeched.

He kept his evil smile planted on his face. I wanted to hurt him, no, _kill_ him. I looked at Edward, who was also angry. His fists were pulled into a tight fist. He looked back at me and saw that I was fuming to.

"Leave now or Rose here will die," Prince Jin warned. Neither Edward nor I moved, though.

"JIN!" he yelled. That's all we could do, though. Yell, I mean. We couldn't go up to him and hurt him or anything, or Rose…

I don't even want to think about it.

"Do what he says," I ordered Ed. "We have no choice." He sighed, knowing that I was right. We both started to head out, with Jin and Rose behind us. I looked back to see how Rose was doing, and she was bawling her eyes out too. I just couldn't believe this was happening. Prince Jin has gone mad, mad over power. He can't be the king, he just can't! So I did the next best thing that came to mind.

I turned around and walked towards him. Prince Jin was pretty startled, but held his ground.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you," Prince Jin cautioned, but I continued on. Don't ask, because I don't know what I'm doing either. I then ended up right in front of him. I then smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. Prince Jin opened his eyes wide and stared blankly at me. I pulled my body towards his. He ended up taking his arm away from Rose, while Rose ran over towards Edward. The two both stared dumbfound at me.

I then kissed Jin right on the lips. Trust me, I did not enjoy it, but it's the only thing I could do. It gets worst, though. I have to let him do whatever he wants now. He deepened the kiss as he pulled me in closer. I pulled one of my arms and put it behind my back. I pointed towards the door, signaling for Edward and Rose to get out while I caught him off guard. I believe they got the message, because I heard footsteps swiftly run the other way behind me.

Here's my chance. I tried to knee him again, but he dodged. He then continued kissing me. This was not what I planned.

"You…don't think…you could…get away… with that again, did you?" he asked in between kisses. I kicked and struggled, like how I did back at my castle, but it didn't work. I then socked him as hard as I could in the face and made a run for it. Prince Jin was shocked, but not for long. He was right on my tail. I made my way through the door and out another that led outside. I saw Rose and Ed in front of me, but before I could catch up to them, I was grabbed by Jin.

I screamed.

Edward turned around and gasped. Prince Jin hit me across the face and kicked me onto the floor. My vision became blurry, but there was one thing I saw clearly. Edward's eyes, those amber orbs I saw…in my dreams! It was him! I couldn't believe it! Edward was my true love in my dreams all along! Oh, what the hell am I thinking? My dreams are just dreams, though. I sighed, knowing that it couldn't possibly be true.

"Don't you dare touch her again or I'll…" Ed warned.

"You'll do what?" Jin asked, with that evil smile on his face again.

Then Ed did something that I never suspected. He clapped his hands together and slapped them on the ground, making a huge, bright light beam around us. When the light disappeared, I saw that Prince Jin was entangled in roots that sprouted up from the ground. I crawled towards Ed and he helped me up. I threw my arms around his neck and cried and cried onto his shoulder, while I clenched onto his shirt. He pulled me away and gave me that wonderful smile of his. Rose came over and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed.

"No problem,"I smiled. You have no idea how good it felt being safe again.

"Let's go home," Ed insisted.

Rose, Edward, and I walked off, leaving Prince Jin stuck in the roots.

Author's Note  
I know, I know, weird chapter. The tournament won't come up for a while. I wanted to add more things first. Well, hope you guys liked this chapter, and thanks for all the reviews. They just make my day :) and I agree with you AniMeViEtGrl, cliffhangers are so much fun to write! Please review! 


	4. A Day Out Shopping

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: I'm so sorry! I feel so bad for not updating! My computer went funky on me and part of this chapter was on it so I had to transfer it to a different computer and all this stuff happened and now I'm back in school and blah! Well, here's my update, and I will seriously try to update more frequently. Enjoy chapter 4!

The Chosen One

Ch.4

This is annoying. We've all been walking home in silence, no words, not even a cough or a single sound. I wanted to ask Edward about what happened back there. I mean, was that alchemy? Plus, he did it without a transmutation circle, which I heard is a pretty big deal. So as we are strolling on home, I ponder over all these questions, but never gather the courage to ask him. I didn't get it. What was holding me back?

"So…" Rose broke the awkward silence, "you're Ed, right?"

Edward nodded in confusion.

"How did you know my name?" he asked.

Rose smiled, "Oh, Winry here told me a nice, hot guy was coming over, and so I figured you're him."

Oh great. Now I probably look like that color of an apple, from how much I'm blushing. Whoa…Ed is blushing too! This is so embarrassing! Why can't Rose just keep her mouth shut?

'_She thought I was hot?'_ Ed thought. He started to blush even more. I glared at Rose, a don't-say-anything-else kind of look, but she didn't take the hint.

"Yeah, I agree, you're pretty hot," Rose nodded. I then whacked her with my wrench. She _really _needed to shut it. I needed to change the subject, and fast! So I finally asked, "So Ed, back there, did you use alchemy?"

Ed nodded, putting his hand behind his head, "Yeah, I guess it was."

"Wait, so you mean…" I gathered up my thoughts. So if he could use alchemy this whole time…

OH MY GOD.

I hit him with my wrench really, _really_ hard. Oh, and not just once. I continuously hit him on the head, making sure I knocked enough sense into him, or at least knocked some of the idiot out of him.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU MADE ME GO THROUGH ALL THAT WHEN THIS WHOLE FREAKING TIME YOU COULD HAVE USED ALCHEMY!" I screeched. Ed quickly backed away from me and motioned his hands in front of him for me to settle down.

"Whoa, take it easy Winry," Ed calmly said. How can I take it easy though? I mean, I had to kiss the guy full on, _kiss_ him. And we're talking about Prince Jin here, the one who threatened and pointed a gun to my best friend's head. Yeah, right, as if I'm going to calm down. Did I mention I had to kiss Jin?

"Do you have any idea how much I had to do back there when you could have done alchemy?" I asked him while slowly edging towards him, raising my wrench in the air.

"Look, Winry, I didn't want you to know!" Ed quickly replied.

I sighed and put my wrench down. I seriously was angry and sad…and the worst part is...

I started to cry.

I hate crying. It's just a sign of weakness, in my opinion. It makes people feel sympathy for you, and I don't like it when people feel that way about me. I tried to sniff up my tears before Rose or Ed, especially Ed, could see them.

"Look," Ed quietly murmured, "Winry, I…"

"There you guys are! We've been looking all over the place for you kids!" one of my maids said while walking towards us. What a time to interrupt, don't you think? I decided to drop it, though. Whatever reason Ed had for not using his alchemy sooner, it's probably good so I shouldn't even bother worrying about it. Let bygones be bygones. Geez, only if it was that easy.

"What are you kids doing out here anyways, not causing any mischief, are you?"

"No!" all three of us said at the same time. I think we said it a little too fast because the maid started giving us the eye.

"So you're walking through a big storm for no reason at all?" she asked suspiciously. We all smiled innocently. We needed to come up with something fast…

"They just came by to pick me up from my house, and they didn't want to bother anyone to come because it would be too much to take you guys out in the storm. We'll live," Rose explained. I mouthed "thank you" to her. She came up with that quickly! She smiled all giddy like at the maid to look even more innocent.

"Well, I trust your word then," the maid believed. We all sighed of relief, grateful that we didn't get caught. I looked down and saw that I still had Ed's coat on. I took off the coat and wrapped some of the coat around Ed and I. He looked at me weirdly at first, but then smiled. That's what I hoped he would do. His smile is just so perfect. If I start getting into details though, I'll never shut up.

We finally got home, totally drenched. Right when the three of us walked into the doors, we all slipped on the tile and landed on our butts. Yeah, that just made my day.

"Well, we should all get some sleep," I insisted as we sat up. Rose and Edward nodded. I could tell they were tired too. This day was so weird…and exciting. Seriously, now that I think about it, this might be the most interesting thing that happened to me my whole life. I know it's a bad thing, but it's still interesting. I mean, who would have thought?

I let Edward borrow some of my dad's pajamas. No, I didn't rummage through his laundry. I asked the maids to grab a clean pair. We all got dressed and went to our rooms. I asked Edward where he would be most comfortable.

"Anywhere is fine, really," he tried to convince me. I wanted to make sure he was relaxed and pleased with wherever he slept. I guess I did put him through a lot tonight. So I kept insisting, well, rather pleading.

"Edward, please, I want you to be comfortable, just pick a room and the maids will set it up for you. You've done so much for me tonight, so you deserve it," I blabbed on. He sighed in defeat and nodded. I guess he was getting annoyed of me.

"Well, I guess your room will do…"

_WHACK!_

Ugh, boys…

"I was just kidding! The blue guest room is fine," he finally chose. I turned towards one of my maids and nodded. She took the hint and went to get the room set up for him.

"Now hopefully my parents won't be mad at me for having you spend the night," I murmured to myself. I guess Edward heard me, because the look on his face gave it away. His eye was twitching. I giggled.

"Don't worry," I patted his back, "I'll make sure they take their wrath out on me."

Edward lips curled up a little bit. He looked so cute.

"Well, I better get to bed," I sighed. I didn't want to leave him, not now, not ever. I turned around and started to walk off, but then turned back towards him.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?' he questioned as he looked back at me. I went up to him and kissed him on the cheek.

Edward blushed furiously.

"Thank you, Edward."

He nodded and walked away quickly. Where's the turn-around-and-kiss-back-passionately kiss? Huh? I sighed and headed back towards my bedroom. I went under my bed covers and snuggled in to get comfortable. I drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep.

---------------------------------

I woke up to the smell of pancakes. Oh, it was just heaven! Then it hit me…Edward! Oh, I hope my parents didn't go off on him. I feel so bad. I quickly changed into my jean skirt and strapless green top and ran towards, well, wherever I might be able to find my parents.

I decided to check their bedroom first. While I walked there, I couldn't help, but be disappointed about not having a dream. I missed the way my true love looked at me and sucked me into this world I couldn't even dare imagine. Was it a sign? Is it because maybe Edward is the one in my dreams so they suddenly stopped now that I knew? Or maybe it was just for one night? And can it really be Edward? I mean, dreams are only dreams, right? Edward does fit the description, though; the description I only know of is the eyes. They both match perfectly.

Suddenly, I ran into something and almost fell to the floor, when arms grabbed me by my waist. I realized I was so caught up in my thoughts that I ran into Edward. I couldn't help, but feel nervous in his arms. He lifted me up so I could straighten out.

"Whoa, be careful," he chuckled. I put my hand behind my head and gave out a small laugh. There was an awkward silence between us for a few moments, but then Rose came up to us.

"Good morning, sunshine's! How are we all?" Rose asked as she put her arms around both of us. Rose just always puts people into better moods.

"Hey Rose," I greeted. "How did you sleep Edward?" I asked. You know, just to make some small talk.

"Good, I guess. Thanks for letting me stay over, I really appreciate it."

I nodded. "So have you seen my parents around?" I shivered at the thought of them punishing Ed.

"Umm…no," he shivered too. I also thought I heard a "thankfully" from him.

"So what're we doin' today? How about we all go shopping!" Rose exclaimed.

"That sounds great, you in?" I asked Ed. He stayed monotonously still for a while, but then nodded.

"Sure!"

We all agreed to it and then went downstairs to eat breakfast. After that we set out since it was already close to noon. I guess we slept in a bit. I didn't see my parents anywhere, nor did I bother asking where they were. I put my hair up into a high bun and put a hat over it so that I looked like a boy. I needed a hidden identity, of course! Edward was wearing the same thing as yesterday, since the maid's cleaned them while we were soundly asleep. I thanked them for that. Rose was in a cute pink summer dress with a Hawaiian flower in her hair. We were off.

The first store we went to was, of course, an automail shop! I get too overly excited over these things. I seriously almost knocked down all the shelves full of automail parts and books. I ended up buying a 100 pieces of parts, and close to 20 books. I was a happy person. We also went into a shop filled with robots. It was…SO AWESOME! I started to take apart some robots, but ended up getting charged for them. Like I said, I get too overly excited.

After that, we went to a few clothes shops. Edward tried on a few things…ok, ok, I _made_ him try on some stuff, but they looked so hot on him! It showed his masculine body. It was totally amazing. His body, I mean. Anyways, Rose and I were in the dressing rooms for hours. We couldn't help it, though, we're girls.

We started walking down the streets, searching for more and exciting shops. Why didn't I do this more often? I'm always stuck in the palace or something. I should go out more, especially since my maids and guards don't even care if I go, I mean, they don't even tell my parents! I love them so much; they let me live my life the way I want to. I inhaled a huge amount of air and released. I never realized how soothing and relaxing life could be, and what made it even better was the beautiful day out. Life was good.

As we walked along, an officer was coming towards us. He looked more like a military guy. The military…my grandmother always hated them, so I guess I've grown to hate them too. So as we walked by him, I simply looked away, not giving a care in the world, but I was surprised when he spoke.

"You look tiny as usual," he said as he walked by. Two things popped into my head when he passed by. First off, he signed up for the tournament, Roy Mustang, the military guy that I said likes power. Second, does he know Edward?

"Do you know that guy?" I asked Edward as I turned to look back at Roy.

"What? I mean, umm…no," Edward stammered.

"Yes he does," Roy yelled back before he turned the corner. I gave a huge glare towards Edward.

"Ok, so maybe I do…" Edward confessed slowly.

I felt my heart boiling with anger. I never realized how mysterious Edward was until now, and I was upset that he never told me anything. What's up with that? His life seems to be this huge secret towards me. I should stop explaining this in my mind, I need to tell him.

"Edward," I started slowly, but meaningfully, "why must you hide yourself so from me?"

He confusingly stared at me. I continued on.

"I mean…" it was so hard to go on, though. I had to reconsider what I was going to say. I only knew the guy for a few days now that I think about it. Of course he hasn't told me much, but he always seems to be hiding something.

"Why is your life such a secret from others?"

"Actually," he spoke, "my life is the opposite. I'm pretty well known around here, and many other places." He sighed, but carried on the conversation. "I'm known as the Full Metal Alchemist."

I seriously just stared at him, for, hmm, I would say a good five long minutes. I couldn't believe I didn't know! How can I miss such an obvious thing? Of course he was the Full Metal Alchemist! My mood was totally different now. I was now thrilled and excited to hear this. I've heard so many stories about the Full Metal Alchemist and all his accomplishments and good deeds. It was so cool to finally meet him. How ironic that he was in front of my very own eyes this whole time.

I'm still mad at myself for not figuring this out before. I mean, he performed alchemy, has a metal arm, and…

"Hmm, I always imagined the Full Metal Alchemist taller…" I observed. He had his angry twitches coming out of his head again. Oh, that's right…he doesn't like to be called…

"WHO YOU CALLING A PETITE LITTLE…"

"I didn't say that!" I interrupted. He let out a little grunt before letting it go. I couldn't help, but giggle.

"Why didn't you tell me you worked for the military?" I asked. I was sort of mad again that he was part of the military scum, disappointing too.

"It's a long story," Edward mumbled.

"Then you'll explain tonight, and I mean everything. Don't hide anymore secrets about you, besides, I like to learn new things about you." He blushed a light crimson on his cheek.

"Then you'll have to tell more about yourself," he added. I nodded in agreement. While this whole little incident happened, Rose was looking in an antique shop. She came out when we finished our conversation and we continued shopping. I was so thrilled about tonight, he is finally going to tell me everything, well, mostly everything hopefully.

A/N: A shorter chapter, I know, but I was too anxious to update :) Please review! You guys are awesome! Do you think I should respond to reviews? And the tournament, we still have a little while to go. Oh, and I didn't re-read this chapter, I have to go to bed so I don't have time. I'll fix mistakes later if there is any.


	5. Under the Moonlight

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist or Lord of the Rings.

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I had a little bit of writer's block and school got a little bit in the way. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I decided to reply to reviewers (they're at the bottom of the page). Now on with the story…

The Chosen One

Ch.5

I'm a very happy person right now. I bought many things I liked, Edward is coming over tonight, and things are going pretty well. I ran up to my room and plopped onto my bed. Wow, so much has happened. I mean, with the Jin situation and Edward and the tournament…

Oh my god! The tournament! I totally forgot about it! Suddenly I became into a depressed mood. Can you blame me, though? I fell in love with Edward and…whoa! Back up, did I just say fell in love? Well, it's just a crush, right? I mean, he's so hot and sweet and…mysterious. It's so fun finding more and more exciting things from him, but now I was feeling doubtful about being with him. I mean, what if he loses the tournament? The relationship between me and him will be all for nothing.

There are tons of people joining the tournament too, that are all strong and brave, and not to mention tall! It's just I don't think It's just when I'm with him, I feel rather safe, and comforted. I feel invulnerable. I sighed. There's probably no chance he could win. Now life was worse than ever, and the worst part is…there's nothing I could do about it.

I wonder how Edward feels about me. I mean, I've only known him for a few days, and I'm already falling hard for the guy. Maybe he doesn't even share the same feelings back, but why else did he join the tournament? Though there are many people that joined for other reasons, which I have no idea why, but whatever. I grabbed my pillow and screamed into it. Did life really have to be this complicated!

Then I looked down by the door and saw a note. I walked over and picked it up. I wonder what it says. I opened it up and it read:

_Princess Winry,_

_I am to inform you with information about the tournament. The preliminary matches will be starting tomorrow. Several hundred men have joined, but only 64 men will be selected tomorrow. Then we go onto the regular matches five days after the preliminaries. The quarter finals will start once eight men are left, semi finals when there are four, and then the finals. _

_Also, your parents will not be home for a while, since they have a royal meeting scheduled, which will take a few days. Sorry to inform you so late, Princess Winry, and thank you for taking the time to read this._

_General Ruth Hunter_

I could hardly breathe. I mean, the preliminaries start tomorrow! Why so soon? And I would have thought that my parents would have told me about there royal meeting. They told me it was just a regular one!

To relief myself of some stress, I took a nice, hot bath. I reclined back into the bath and thought of nothing.

---------------------------

The doorbell rang. Edward was here! I was already out of the bath and I put on some shorts on that said "Angel" on the back of them and a light blue halter top. I wanted to impress him a little, you know? One of the maids invited Edward in. I walked up to Edward and gave a small smile towards him.

"Long time, no see," he said sarcastically. I let out a little laugh. We walked over towards the pool and dangled our legs in the water. It was a gorgeous night. Thousands of stars shined about, a full moon was lighting up the earth, and a nice, cool breeze seeped through the castle. I inhaled a deep breath, grasping the scent of this beautiful evening.

It was silent for a while, a peaceful one, though. I was trying to find out what Ed was thinking about. I did invite him over to talk about his past. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him, it all seems so complicated by the look on his face right now. Ed let out a soft sigh and turned towards me. You know what's weird? He has the effect on me that I can't figure out. I mean, every time he looks at me, it's like he locks me into place and never let's go. I wonder if I do the same to him.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said. He didn't let go of his stare and stayed quiet. He gave a smile of uncertainty. It gave me a sudden chill.

"No, it's ok," he mumbled so small that I almost missed it.

"My brother and I loved our mother very dearly," he started off, "and we cared for her so much. We started off doing alchemy very young so we would always show her what we could make. She would always be so proud." Then his face became serious.

"She died, though, and we had no family to go to. Our father…well…we didn't know where he was, Actually, I still don't know where he is, or if he's even alive. So we…we…" His lips started to tremble. I looked into his eyes and saw many mixed emotions. He seemed, well…sad. I don't blame him, of course. I mean, ouch! Losing your mom at such a young age and not knowing your dad, that's got to be harsh. I listened intently to the rest of the story.

"We did a terrible thing, Winry. Alchemy is about equivalent exchange. It's when you want to gain something; you have to lose something of equal value. We broke the law, Winry, and tried to surpass what no one has ever done before, which is bring a human back to life…our mom."

"We knew that no one has ever done it before, but that wasn't going to stop us. We studied day and night, making sure we had all the ingredients and procedures we needed to conduct this dangerous alchemy. We failed, though. My brother lost his whole body, but I sealed his soul onto a suit of armor. I lost my leg and arm during this, though. Winry…" He paused for a few seconds. "I saw things that I shouldn't have seen. Things that I don't need to describe to you, things that…should have been kept a secret."

I couldn't exactly respond to any of this as I was still trying to comprehend everything. He tried to bring his mother back by using alchemy, but failed. I got that part, but I couldn't let go of what he saw. I didn't let my curiosity get the best of me, though.

"I'm…so sorry that all this happened to you," I tried to comfort him. He gave a weak smile.

"I've realized that I can't bring my mother back, no matter how much it hurts, but I'll do anything to give back Al's body and hopefully mine as well. I decided to become a state alchemist and I hoped it would bring me to answers, which it actually has, but I haven't been sucked in by them. I do things my way, whether stupid Mustang likes it or not." I let out a small laugh at his slight twitching.

"Thanks for telling me all this, Edward," I gratefully thanked. I was very happy he told me. It lets me know that he trusts me and that he can tell me anything.

He nodded without making eye contact with me. I could tell there were some things he was hiding, but I let it go. It's none of my business.

"Winry…" his voice sang. I turned towards him and realized that are faces were only an inch away from each other. I felt my face turn pink.

"I've always found leads, but I always manage to lose them. I almost lost hope, but…every time I look at you and see your smile; it brings me strength and calmness. You keep me going, Winry."

And that's when he leaned over and kissed me.

After a few seconds, he pulled away and then embraced me into a hug. All that was going through my mind was…

HECK YES!

I can't believe he kissed me, _kissed_! I could hardly breathe and I just…felt so good and happy. I returned the hug and never wanted to let go. I've never felt so safe in my life. We let go of each when a few minutes past.

"I care for you too much, Winry."

I gave him an embarrassing, big goofy smile. We both stood up and as I started to walk away, I felt arms wrap around my waist and take hold of me. I started giggling like a little giddy girl, but then the next thing I know, he jumps in the pool with me.

"Hey!" I squealed. He grabbed hold of my chin and tilted it towards me. This was probably the most romantic moment of my life. The moon was glimmering off the water, the sky blew with soft, musical sounds, I was in the arms of the HOTTEST guy ever, I mean, can there be anything more romantic?

"Edward…" but before I could say anything else, he leaned in. I returned the kiss as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He started to…

"Glad you two are enjoying yourselves," a voice snickered. We both snapped back as quickly as possible and looked to see who it was.

"Jin!" we both yelled at the same time.

Why? Why me? What a way to ruin a perfect moment, no…the best moment of my life!

I blew up, "Go away Jin or I'll kick your ass!"

He started to snicker at my threat, "Cute…too cute."

"You don't think I will?"

I wanted to jump him so bad, but then I felt myself being pulled behind Edward.

"Get out of here Jin!" Edward yelled.

"I will…just let me speak to you _privately_ and then I will leave you two alone."

Surprisingly, Edward nodded and started to get out of the pool. I wonder why he wants to talk to Ed. I hope he'll be ok.

"I'll be right back, Winry," he assured me.

--Normal POV—

Edward followed behind cautiously, just in case Jin was to make an unexpected attack upon him. Once they were out of sight from the pool, they started to talk.

"What brings you here?" Ed snarled.

"I wanted to make this tournament more interesting," Jin started off.

Edward didn't like the sound of that, but showed no emotion.

"If I win, you can never see or talk to Winry again, and if you win, then I can't see or talk to Winry, deal?"

Jin held his hand out to shake on it. Ed stared Jin down, still thinking about his decision. He couldn't do that, what if Jin wins?

'_Winry…' _ Edward looked down onto Jin's hand. He sighed, but agreed to it. He took hold of his hand and shook it. The deal was made.

--Winry's POV—

Ugh, what's taking them so long? It feels like forever since they left. I've already done 50 laps in this huge pool, what else can I do while I wait? I ducked down into the water to see how long I could hold my breath.

"One minute and twenty-four seconds!" I exclaimed as I drew up to get some air.

"Looks like your having fun," Ed laughed. I blushed, but to hide it, I quickly ran out of the water and grabbed my towel to hide my face in. I dried myself off and then sat back on a chair. I looked around the area. No sign of Jin.

"So?"

"Huh?"

"What happened with Jin!"

"Oh right," Edward nervously laughed, "it was nothing. He's gone, that's all that matters."

Something was bothering him, he was hesitating. Something went on between the two and I'm going to find out.

"Let's go inside, I'll make us some hot cocoa," he insisted as he held his hand out to mine. I gladly took it. I'll ask him later.

"So," I asked him as we sat on the couch with our hot cocoa in hand, "are you nervous?"

"No way! I'm more excited than anything!" he exclaimed. Now this was the Edward I knew.

"Don't you sound over-confident," I playfully punched him in the arm.

"No," he leaned closer to me, making me slightly blush, "I just know how to get what I want." He gave me a peck on the lips and smiled. Whoa, he certainly knows how to charm a girl! I giggled.

"Let's watch a movie!"

So we cuddled together and enjoyed the rest of the night watching _Lord of the Rings_.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter, the preliminaries start! Woot! I'm pretty excited to write it, hehe. Anyhoo, I decided to respond to reviewers, so here you go.

**WildfireDreams**: Thanks!

**Kris: **Thanks so much! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**gothheadhog69: **Haha, sorry to keep you waiting. Hope you liked this chapter.

**Draconia-san**Glad you're enjoying the story!

**Goddess of Yesterday: **Thanks! And yes, Ed is adorable!

**Keiyou: **Don't worry, we all get carried away by Ed's hotness. Thanks a bunch!

**Sammy: **Woot, two reviews from you in the same chapter. So sorry to keep you waiting! I'll really try to update sooner!

**Capito Celcior**Wow, big compliment, those really keep me encouraged! Thanks so much, and I'll try to update more.

Thanks so much everyone and keep reviewing, they keep me going!


	6. The Preliminaries

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: Woot! Early update! Ha, it was fun writing this chapter. Next chapter will be even more fun. So hopefully I'll have that one up soon too. On with the story!

The Chosen One

Ch.6

_We were walking along a never-ending road in complete silence. He looked down upon me and grabbed hold of my hand. We both smiled gently to each other and swung our arms back and forth. The view was quite interesting. The road had a line of flowers going along with it, and after the flowers are hundreds of trees. The trees covered the sky, hiding what the weather was like. I felt at peace with him. Slowly, though, it became darker. The flowers started to disappear behind us. The trees grew larger and all the green leaves were falling to the ground. Now it looked like a haunted, dead forest. _

_He let go of my hand and looked at me. I could only see his eyes again, but they were full of fear and sadness. He quickly started off ahead of me, disappearing into the darkness. I ran towards him to catch up._

"_Wait, my love! Please, don't leave me!" I cried, but he was completely out of sight now. Darkness started to enclose around me. I felt like I was being sucked in. I collapsed onto the floor and cried into my knees. _

_I screamed._

"WAIT!" I jumped out of my bed. Oh my god. That was one of the scariest dreams of my life. I've never felt so alone…why am I shaking? Rose ran in, trying to catch her breath.

"Winry, are you okay?" she asked, running over to me.

I nodded, of course not meaning it. I mean, I can't even describe how scared I was! Rose didn't believe me since she saw me twitching uncontrollably. She started talking about something, but I tuned her out. Was that dream a sign? Can that person really be Edward, and it's warning me that there's no chance I can be with him? Or is it just a dream? What happened to dreams about my candy world and I'm surrounded by happy, little butterflies and bunnies?

"…so maybe you should seek help," Rose finished whatever she was talking about. I just nodded stupidly towards her.

"Well, anyways, hurry up and get changed in this," she threw me a dress, "so we can get to the preliminaries. Can you believe the tournament is already starting? Anyways, hurry up!" With that she walked out of my room. The tournament…the one that was to choose my husband is starting today. That just made me feel a whole lot better!

Not.

I looked at the dress Rose gave me. It looked rather stunning in my opinion. It was a dark, maroon, halter dress made of silk. It went all the way down to my feet when I tried it on. I decided to do my own hair today since I feel like being alone right now. I grabbed my straightener and started working on my long, blonde hair, layering it so I could get all the pieces of hair. Then I curled the ends inward and added a Hawaiian flower behind my ear for the final touch.

Then I started to work on my make up. I added some red eye shadow, and a silver, glittery layer on top of it. Then I put some mascara and eyeliner on, and a touch of a light pink blush on each of my cheeks. I grabbed my favorite flavor lip gloss, which is strawberry crush, and dabbed it on my lips. I was pretty satisfied with my work. It was not too much and not too little, and it brought out a lot of confidence that I never knew I had. I became in a better mood.

"You ready?" I heard Rose call.

"Yeah, I'm coming," I answered back. I drew in a deep breath and muttered, "Here I go," and walked out of my room and headed down stairs. There were quite a few people downstairs, so I made my appearance more elegant by loosely holding one of the stair rails and with the other hand holding up the side of my dress. I made sure I took my time while descending the stairs. Everyone started clapping, approving that I looked nice. That's a load off my back.

I also enjoyed the look on the princesses' faces. Yes, the princesses were here…unfortunately. I did enjoy the part of them being jealous, though. I enjoyed that part _a lot_.

"You look…pretty," Princess Umi spat. I rolled my eyes. I don't really care what she says anyways.

"Let's go!" I exclaimed. I might as well sound excited instead of moping around about it.

-----------------------

The arena was AMAZING! I mean, it was so huge and well decorated. Everyone was dressed up in expensive outfits from what I've seen and everything else looked so…royal. From top to bottom, side to side, everything was full of gold! Maybe even more than my castle.

Maybe.

There were also bundles of red roses in vases that were attached onto the walls. It's amazing how much they've done here. Totally amazing. This tournament was certainly a bigger deal than I thought. Not that that's a bad thing, of course.

"Absolutely stunning!" Rose pondered over the walls throughout the hallway we were walking through.

"You're telling me," I replied. We both stared around in awe.

Things got even better, though. There were ten thousand seats in the whole stadium, shaped in a heart…a _heart_. Wow, whoever created this …absolutely amazing. We had our own little box up on the top of the stadium. We could see everything that was going on. There was also a wall that included about fifty television flat-screens and then there was a fighting platform in the center of the arena. The chairs were also red and cushiony. They made this place look so happy and wonderful, even though a bunch of fighting is going to be taking place here.

"Hello Princess Winry," a man walked by my chair and bowed, "My name is Kyo Tami, at your service." How cool, they even give me a butler!

"May I please have strawberry lemonade?"

Kyo nodded and went to get some. I looked out towards the stadium and saw that all the seats were being filled up. The tournament was about to start.

"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, welcome to Tournament Winry!" the announcer exclaimed. I practically fell out of my seat hearing this. Tournament Winry? How lame, they couldn't even come up with an original name.

"I'm Henry Tashki, and will be your host for the tournament! Today we will start out with the preliminaries, a series of matches that will keep going until we get a total of 64 men. This will take most of the day, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the thrill of fighting. We also have the betting booths available in lobby 2 if you want to gamble on who you think will win!"

Oh great, now they were turning this tournament into a casino, how typical.

"On these screens," he continued, "will be different matches going on throughout different arenas across the country. That's right, across the country! Now I hope you all enjoy!"

He then introduced two fighters that entered the platform. I didn't recognize them from when we signed everyone up, actually, I didn't recognize most of them when all the televisions turned on and showed who was fighting who. I looked at all the screens to see if Jin or Ed was fighting, but I didn't see them. I guess they weren't up yet.

"And begin!" Henry jumped up in excitement. The battle below took only about five seconds. One of the guys ran up to the other and punched him in the face and gut and sent him flying, crushing him into the arena wall. One of the referees went to check up on him and said that he was knocked unconscious. So why did that guy join in the first place if he was just going to get his ass kicked?

"That was amazing everyone! That guy got knocked out in only a few blows. Now let's have our next fight proceed, shall we?" The winner stuck his arm in the air in pride and then walked off the stage. Two new fighters came up, who I also didn't recognize, and they started fighting. This one took awhile longer, so I started to get bored and looked at the other screens to see what was going on.

It seems that Jin has entered battle, though he was toying with this one guy. How evil, how about you just get it over with? Ed was still not up yet, which made me grew nervous. What happened if he decided not to go along with the tournament? Maybe that's what Jin was talking about to him last night! I mentally smacked myself. Of course he's here; Ed is too stubborn for his own good.

"I'm getting tired of these games!" the man Jin was going up against grunted. He lunged himself towards Jin to give him a punch. Jin dodged easily, though, and then kneed the guy in the gut. Jin won the match. Jin was super powerful; I just hope Ed is as well.

Jin then looked at the camera and blew a kiss. How disgusting.

I looked at the other screens and saw him. Edward was already done with his battle! Aw crap, I missed it! Ugh…this sucks. Well, at least he won. Ed looked down onto the defeated opponent and then spat on him. Umm, I'm guessing he didn't like him. He then waved his arms in the air in victory.

"Go Edward!" I yelled out in excitement. The arena suddenly became quiet from my sudden outburst. I nervously laughed and turned around so no one could see me blush. Ha, my bad.

Some matches went on for the longest time. A lot of people were using weapons, alchemy, and some just using there fists. I was still in awe, not from how nice the arena was, but how many people were fighting for me…_me_. It was very flattering.

"Now it's half time folks! So everyone has fifteen minutes to grab something to eat before the matches start back up." I gave out a sigh of relief, thankful that I could finally stand up. I needed to get some fresh air, even though we were already outside.

I forgot that Rose wasn't with us at the arena. I looked around for her, followed by dozens of escorts, and then spotted her behind a food booth.

"Rose, what the hell are you doing?" I asked as I saw her in a funky outfit and a huge hat on.

"Like I had a choice to do this, they needed someone to work here. So here I am!" Rose rolled her eyes. I could only laugh at this. I went outside and made sure no one was around (besides my escorts) and sat down on a bench. There couldn't be any better weather. It was clear blue. Another gorgeous day attempting to higher my mood.

"It's about to start up again, Princess Winry. We should start heading back," one of the escorts spoke.

"Thank you," I graciously curtsied. We headed back towards our seats. The tournament already started up again. In this arena, it was Alphonse Elric, that metal-looking guy…and Ed's brother, and some other dude. Alphonse seemed to be having no problem in this battle. His armor seems pretty strong, so I'm not that surprised.

The hours passed by SO slowly. Every battle was either super long or super quick. Nothing really caught my interest. I can't wait until the semi-finals and finals. I then heard behind me a conversation between two of my escorts. Being the typical me, I eavesdropped.

"Ha, good thing we bet our money on Prince Jin. It's pretty obvious that he's going to win," one of the escorts snickered.

"Yeah," the other said, "these other losers don't stand a chance, especially that one pipsqueak that they call the 'Full Metal Alchemist'. I mean, can you believe that's really him?"

The two started laughing. Wow, that pissed me off so much. Before I could say anything, though, I heard, "WHO YOU CALLIN' A SMALL MUMTCHKIN?"

"Ed!" I squealed as I sat up and went over to hug him. He returned it.

"Hey Winry," he said in his soft, sweet voice.

"You've made it to the next round!"

"Yep, so how did you like my fight?" He asked.

Uh oh.

"Umm…err…it was, umm…good," I stuttered. Ed laughed in victory. Phew, he bought it.

Then it clicked.

"Wait, how did you get here so fast when you were at one of the other stadiums?"

He answered, "I was only about thirty miles away."

"Oh."

The announcer then spoke, "Congratulations to all winners! Tonight we will have a ball to congratulate the winners at 7 P.M. at the Corridor (uh…couldn't come up with a name). Thanks for coming everyone, and we'll see you all tomorrow."

"A ball sounds fun," I gleefully clapped. Balls mean dances, dances mean slow dances, and slow dances mean slow dances with Edward. Oh yeah!

"Ugh, all these guys think I'm going to lose. Some support, huh?"

I patted his back, "Don't worry, I believe in you." Then that dream came back in my head and made me all paranoid. Ed saw that I was worried and pulled me into another embrace.

"I will _make sure _Jin doesn't win, so don't you worry," he comforted me. I returned the hug in thanks.

"Hey, you're not allowed up here! We gave you enough time, anyways!" one of the escorts called out.

Ed let go and smiled at me, "See you tonight." Then he left.

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THE BALL!

A/N: Next chapter will be the ball, then the regular matches, and then on and on. Anyways, here are the review responses!

**WinryElric: **Yes, cuddly, totally adorable. Thanks for reading :)

**WildfireDreams:** Thanks, and also thanks for reviewing every chapter. YOU ROCK MY SOCKS IN A BOX WITH A FOX! Uh…just kidding. Teeheehee!

**Capito Celcior:** Writing in Winry's POV is fun, and pretty easy. Thanks so much!

**Deynaz: **Thanks so much, glad your enjoying my story.

**TheBlackFox01: **A fan girl…HOW COOL! Thanks a billion, million, ca-jillion!

**Sam: **I can't wait to write that fight. WOOT! Thankies!

**GenericX:** Aw! That just made my day, thanks so much!

**Goddess of Yesterday: **Yes, Jin's a butt…I couldn't agree more. I believe you also reviewed every chapter so…THANKS SO MUCHY MUCH!

**Lihanou: **Hehe, sorry you didn't get to see Ed's style of fighting in this chapter. You will soon, though. Thanks!

I WUV YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Thanks for reviewing everyone. I'm hoping to get up to 100 reviews by chapter 10 so keep reviewing!


	7. Love and Heartbreak

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: Hey peeps! Yet another chapter, yay! I am SO, SO SORRY ABOUT KEEPING YOU GUYS WAITING! It took me a billion times to re-write this chapter for some reason. Hopefully this will be worth the time, though. I also give you some more excuses after the chapter ;)

The Chosen One

Ch.7

"Winry, your room's a mess!" Rose exclaimed as she tried to walk past all the clothes on the floor.

"ARGH!" I yelled. Why is my life so freaking complicated! I mean, out of all the clothes I have, I can't find one thing to wear to the ball! It's pissing me off…oh so very much.

"What got stuck up your butt today?"

I glared at Rose. She could tell by the look in my eyes that I wasn't in the mood. Oh how I love my evil look.

"Rose…THERE'S NOTHING I CAN WEAR!" I roared. Rose fell back from my sudden burst. I was not in a good mood, nope, not one single happy thought was in me. Why must I complain over the simplest of the things? Because I can!

Rose put her hands on my shoulders and calmly said, "Calm down, Winry. No need to worry, I already bought the perfect dress for you." And there it was. One of my maids walked in the door with one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. It was an orange strapless dress that flowed down all the way to my feet. It had a three-layered poofy skirt on the bottom. (A/N: I'm having trouble explaining what the dress looks like so hopefully you all know what I mean, hehe.)

I went and jumped into Rose and gave her a bear hug.

"You're the best friend anyone could ever have!"

"Any…time," Rose mumbled as she tried to catch some air during my squeeze. I let go of her and grabbed the dress, squealing as I quickly started to change. It worked so well, too. It matched the shape of my body and it was the perfect length. Rose went on and did my hair by putting it up into a complicated bun with an orange ribbon. Then she added some mascara and orange eye shadow to complete my image. I had to say I looked pretty dazzling. Dazzling…what a funny word! Ok, sorry, that was so off the subject.

"You're going to sweep so many guys off there feet tonight!" Rose squealed.

"So are you," I commented. She raised her eyebrow in confusion. I laughed as I got up and went to my almost empty closet thanks to my room revamp. I pulled out a white strapless dress that was knee-length and had green and pink flowers all over it. The look on Rose's face would have been a great picture moment, but of course I didn't have a camera with me at the time.

"Winry, you didn't have to do this…" Rose started with her little speech. Before she went any further, I threw her the dress and said, "I don't care what you say, you're going to wear it and that's final! Now hurry up, we don't have all day!"

--------------------------

I love limos. They are the coolest cars in the world! It's like…your own private party that lasts, what, fifteen minutes? I grabbed a soda from the miniature fridge and asked the driver to turn up the radio full blast. Surprised stares were on us while Rose and I danced. We both then stuck our heads out of the top of the ceiling and let the cool evening air blow against us.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time, and were not even at the ball yet!" Rose shouted over the loud cars passing by.

I nodded in agreement. I could tell this was going to be a fun night.

"So…are you going to dance with Eddie?" Rose asked, using the nickname she named him.

"Why must you call him that?"

"Because I can!" Rose playfully retorted back. I rolled my eyes. That's when we arrived. Oh, what do you know, it's full of gold! Gee, how wonderful!

Not.

Ok, how annoying. Gold here, gold there, there is gold everywhere! I mean, you'd think I'd been jumping in excitement, but gold is getting way to old. Everywhere I go now seems to be filled with it, and it just all seems so…ordinary to me now. Where's the originality?

I was totally taken by surprise when I saw who it was that opened the door. There. Edward stood. He looked so hot in that black tuxedo of his. It's nice to see him in something different for a change. He offered me his hand and I gladly took it. We glided across the walkway towards the door, with flashes from cameras and gossipers trying to interview us. I toned them out, only feeling the magic surrounding Ed and I. I wonder if he feels the same way.

"You look beautiful, as always," Ed whispered into my ear. I giggled and tightened my grip on his hand.

"You look handsome, yourself," I smoothly replied back. We made our entry.

All eyes were on us. Chills went down my spine, but Ed squeezed my hand in reassurance. He's a very good mind reader. We hooked arms this time and elegantly made our way towards the center of the room. Ah yes, the light just happened to be pointing our way, blinding our eyes. I just hope nobody is taking pictures of this.

That when we said our hellos to everyone. I shook hands with about hundreds of people, then pretended to be interested in conversations with hundreds more. It was amusing, actually. So many were saying, "Please choose our child."

My reply: "Your son's courage, strength, and last, but not least, heart will help them win. That will make them the chosen one."

Some would nod and would go off about something else. Everyone else would keep begging. Stupid…

"Would you like to dance?" Ed asked, with his hand out. Like in the movies, I gracefully put my hand into his and with the other grabbed the side of my dress.

"Of course."

We set into rhythm as soon as we started to sway side to side. The song's sweet tune made me feel calm and collected within. I practically melted as Ed pushed me closer into him, chest to chest, our faces inches away. I could feel his breath blowing against my skin. Our eyes locked during the course of the whole song. Never did we look away.

He put his forehead against mine, breathing in deeply.

"I love you," he sang. He leaned in a kissed me passionately. I wrapped my arms and held him tighter as we continued on. I…I can't even describe how I felt. My world suddenly became my own. It blacked out, with only me and Ed standing in the middle of it, floating around the clouds, with fireworks shooting off. When we let go, he embraced me, as if we would never see each other again when we let go.

"I love you too."

I didn't want to let go, not now, not ever. I love him…way too much. So much, that if he loses, our love will have meant nothing. I let go.

"We can't," I murmured with my head down. I can feel tears coming. He tilted my chins so our eyes can meet. I couldn't hold them in anymore.

"I love you…and if you lose…I don't know what I would do. Life wouldn't be worth living, Ed. You have to understand..." I whimper, "…we will only hurt each other if we stay in love." He pulled me into another tight embrace.

"I won't lose, Winry. I wouldn't forgive myself if I let you go off with someone else, someone that wouldn't take care of you the way you deserve to be cared for. Winry…" he squeezed tighter.

"I won't lose! I can't…I love you, Winry! Nothing will keep us apart!" He kissed me again, except more passionately. He slipped his tongue into my mouth. We explored each other's mouth, and it made our love for each other yearn for more.

"Winry!" I pulled away. That voice, sounded way too familiar. Reality all came back. Everyone, I mean, _everyone_ watched this whole incident. Oh no. Out of everyone, the only ones that worried me were Jin and my parents.

"What's the meaning of this?" my dad roared. Ed was about to saying something when my dad punched him right in the face.

"No! Stop!" I cried as I tried to pull my father away from him, but two guards snuck up behind and took seize of my arms. I was helpless. Another few guards took hold of Ed and pinned him to the ground. My father was extremely upset.

"How dare you touch my daughter! I will sentence you to…"

"Shut up!"

My dad slowly turned around and gasped at who it was…me.

"Young lady!" he infuriated. "How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" He drew closer to Ed and kicked him in the gut. Ed grunted in pain.

"Please, I beg of you! Stop! You're hurting him!"

My father looked at me in confusion. After he saw my tears, he calmed himself by breathing a few times and then asked, "Do you know this man?"

I gulped in some courage, "Yes I do, father."

He raised his eyebrow, "And what is your relationship with him?"

I blushed. This was totally embarrassing. But when I looked at Ed and saw his beautiful amber eyes look into mine, I knew that all was going to be ok.

"I love him."

He started to laugh. What nerve! I confess my love and all he could do is laugh? I was burning up.

"What's so funny?" I shot at him. He heard my tone and that got him to know I was being serious.

"You love him? You have got to be kidding me!" He let out a chuckle. "Since when did this happen?"

"What's it to you? While you find this amusing, Ed there is laying there in pain!"

"Well, if you really want to know why I'm laughing, it's because I'm surprised you would fall in love at a time like this."

"Why?" I asked, a little afraid of what his answer would be.

"I mean, it's pointless, if you ask me. It's going to last for the next few weeks, and when somebody else wins, it'll all mean for nothing. All such love and good times wasted. Memories that will wash up your mind forever. Are you willing to live with that?"

My eyes widened. I was scared, and more tears fell down my cheeks. He has me beaten.

"You're living a lie here, Winry. Come back to reality and realize that you're probably going to marry somebody else. Now I'm not trying to upset you, I just don't want you to do something you're going to regret."

"That's not true! This has meaning, our love…" Ed yelled.

"He's right," I mumbled. I clenched my teeth together and cried out as loud as I can.

"We will only get hurt this way, Ed."

"Winry, please don't say that. I love you, Winry. Have faith Winry!" Ed cried out.

"Ed…I'm sorry. I love you to, but…we have to realize this isn't some silly fairy tale. Ed, I'm sorry, but I think its best that we shouldn't see each other anymore."

I wanted to stop myself from saying these things. I couldn't, though, I just can't! My emotions are being messed with. I don't know what to do!

Ed was mad. He got up and ran out of the room. I've never felt so alone in my life.

A/N: runs away from sharp thrown objects Agh, don't hurt me! Well, I didn't update because one, I re-did it many times, two, I got lazy, and three, school got in the way. So hopefully the next update will come sooner. I'll try to get to it as soon as possible! Until next time, later! And don't forget to review!

**WildfireDreams: **Yeah, Jin from Yu Yu Hakusho is way better than this one, sorry about that, but don't worry, we'll see this Jin go down the drain soon :)

**GenericX: **Thanks a whole lot, you're, like, the best :P

**FMA Fan: **Yes, there will always be at least a little bit of fluff in each chapter, well, hopefully. I just can't help myself!

**Sam: **Yeah, isn't Winry such a ditz? Hehe, glad you're enjoying the story!

**Cathelina: **The fight will come sooner or later XD

**Goddess of Yesterday: **x.x Uh…-hurries up and starts writing next chapter- yes, dancing with Ed would be SO FREAKING AWESOME!

**WinryElric: **Yes updated pretty soon that time, but not this time XD Sorry about that, I'm trying really hard! Thanks a bunch!

**Edwardsgirl4eva: **Glad you're enjoying the story!

**Flippy0.o: **Muwahahahahahahaha! Yes, I'm evil, and it's totally fun :D Thanks a billion dollars with ice cream with chocolate syrup and rainbow sprinkles and oreo crumbs and cherries and…

**Lihanou: **Whatever he wears, he will always look hot in. Hek yes!

**Animedreamer: **-twitch twitch- Hehe, -spaz- sure thing –tries to hold it, but can't- YOU ROCK, LIKE, TOTOLLY ROCK! –hugs- Ok…that was random…

**GoddessRini: **Thanks for your patience, because mine usually goes all spazztic and things get all weirded out when I spaz. Ok, anyways, thankies!

**Suzuume: **-stabs Jin- DIE! Oh wait, I'll wait to torture him later, muwahahahahahahahahaha! Thanks so much for reading!

**Katiea: **Ed's cute…CUTE! Are you kidding, he's so freaking hot! Haha, just playing, not really, hehe, ok…thanks for reading my story!

**yamilover32: **Thanks! Yeah, I thought starting off with a dream would be a good start, so voila!

**windscargirl**Yeah, school can get in the way plans to burn her school down Hehe, ok, I wouldn't go that far, unless it drives me even more crazier :) Thanks for reading!

**mustang24**Aw, gee golly! I don't know what to say, but…THANKS SO MUCH!

**Al's-best-friend**Glad you're enjoying the story and thanks!

REVIEW! I mean, please review with cherries on top –smiles sweetly-.


	8. Depressed

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: Yay, early update! Haha, lots of you got upset about the last chapter. Don't worry, though, things will get better…eventually :D

The Chosen One

Ch.8

Love is an interesting thing. Once you're in it, it's like you can never let go. This is why I sit in the middle of the room, bawling my eyes out. I shouldn't have said what I did. I want to take it all back, but it's too late. He's gone. I wouldn't be surprised if he quit the tournament. My whole life just crumbled before my eyes. I lost Ed, Jin got his way, and me…I have nothing left to live for. I thought everything would be better this way, but when I thought about it, how could it be better? I just lost the love of my life just because I thought there was no hope. This made me cry even more.

"Finally," I heard a voice smirk behind me. I turned around and glared at who it was.

Jin.

I stood up and started to walk away.

"Things are better this way, you know?" my father said. He put his hand on my shoulder, but I slapped it off.

"Better? Better! How can you say that?" I screech.

He cringes. "Honey, I mean, Jin is going to win anyways."

My mouth went wide. Did he just say what I think he said?

"So the reason why you told me to leave him is because I _Jin_ will most likely win? Are you kidding me?" I asked, feeling the anger rise up. Or maybe something else.

"Um, well, yes."

I puked. I felt as if my legs went numb, so I stumbled onto the floor, clenching my stomach. This could not be happening. I became so confused that I thought what my dad said made total sense, until I thought about Jin. Jin…this was his entire fault! I mean, it's totally not my fault that he had to come and ruin my life! Actually, come to think of it, I might have not met Ed, because I wouldn't even announce the tournament if Jin wasn't the one I was going to wed. Maybe that would have been better, though.

Maybe.

"Winry, you're better off with me, admit it," Jin said.

I slapped him.

"I will never be happy with you."

"Well, isn't that just too bad, because you are going to have to _deal_ with me," he angrily replied, wiping the side of his face. He came up to me and whispered into my ear, "I always get what I want…" he licked my ear, "…and I want you."

He walked away. Chills ran down me. My parents stood there and acted as if nothing happened. The whole ball went back to normal. I ran out crying.

----------------------

"Winry, please open the door! You're going to have to eventually!" Rose knocked on the door for the millionth time.

"Rose, go away!" I sniffled. I've been lying here for who knows how long. It could have been hours, or even days. Time didn't matter to me anymore.

"You have to get ready for the tournament." Oh.

I groaned and through a temper. I grabbed the picture frame that had a picture of me and Ed, wrapping his arms around me. We looked so good together. I ended up throwing the frame at my mirror, shattering it to pieces. I heard a gasp outside the room. I ignored it.

"I hate myself," I muttered as I pulled out a black dress. I wasn't about to wear happy colors to this stupid tournament. I don't even want to go, but it is my tournament, and it won't go on without me. That sucks.

"Winry, are you ok?" my mother cried out. I sighed and walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Rose and my mother, completely astounded by something.

"Do I look like a hot guy?"

They shook their heads.

"Then stop staring at me!"

"It's just," Rose said, "that you look…different."

I went into the bathroom and took a look at myself in the mirror. I did look different, like a completely new person. My face became paler, my whole outfit was black, my hair looked like crap, and I had dark circles around my eyes, would you like me to go on? I turned away, a little embarrassed at how terrible I looked.

"Would you like me to fix you up a bit?" Rose perked up. I crept by her like she wasn't even there. I heard her sigh from behind. I walked down to the kitchen and grabbed a biscuit. I slowly ate it, because opening my mouth really hurt. You should see how chapped they look.

"We should be going, Princess," my guard informed. I nodded my head, even though it was barely noticeable. We got in the car and went to the stadium.

During the whole car ride, everyone was trying to get me to talk, but I didn't say a word. I just kept looking down, acting as if my feet were the most interesting things in the world. They finally decided to give up and a rare silence fell inside the car. When we arrived, everyone filed out of the car, except for me that is. I could only sit there, feeling depressed. I mean, what if Ed _really_ did quit the tournament? Or what if he was here? What would I say to him, or would we even talk at all, or make eye contact? A headache began to form.

"Winry, we need to go," my mother softly said, offering her hand to me. I didn't take it, though. I just got out of the car and swept past them so I wouldn't have to listen to them pry things out of me. I wouldn't want them to waste their time. I asked one of my guards to grab me a soda and then headed up to my seat. First things first, though. I went to the girl's bathroom, making sure no one was in there, entered one of the stalls, and started to cry again. I just couldn't stop myself.

Depression is a sad thing to go through. You don't feel in the mood to do anything at all, and you want to get away from life, or even get rid of yours once and for all. You hope that somehow you can start off fresh, or things can go back to normal. But they don't, and some things will never go back to the way they were. It's even sadder when you can't do anything about it. Depression is the way to suck the life out of you. The only way to get rid of it is to be strong.

I tried to tell myself to be strong, and not give up on life, but everything seemed so terrible to me, that it wasn't worth fighting for it. I turned towards the toilet and puked…and cried…and puked some more. I've realized I've been in there a long time, and people would get worried, which is such a waste of their time. I pulled myself together and wiped the tears away with a paper towel. I looked in the mirror to see if I looked at least ok, but I was so far from it. I sighed and walked out the door.

As I lazily traveled over to my seat, I bumped into something, something metal. I fell back, hitting my head on the hard surface below me. I rubbed my head in pain, but totally forgot about my pain when I found out what I hit, or should I say _who_. It was Alphonse Elric…Edward's brother.

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me help you," he lent me his hand and I pulled myself up with it. I really wanted to talk to him, but after what happened, I couldn't bring myself to it. I nodded in thanks and started to walk off when he called out, "Wait! You're Winry, right?"

I turned around and nodded. I became suddenly nervous. I really, _really _didn't want to talk to him now. I waited for him to say something else.

"Um, my brother…Ed, told me what happened…Winry, he loves you, _very_ much." Oh no, I wasn't going to cry again, was I? Maybe there was still hope. But I still couldn't let go of my father's words. How selfish of me.

"I love him too, but it just won't work out…it just can't," I answer back. He nodded, deciding not to take the conversation any further. He left before I could ask him if Ed was still in the tournament. I highly doubt it, though. I sighed for the billionth time and finally made my way to my seat. I slouched, not wanting to watch.

The day dragged as slow as a slug can crawl. People were winning, losing, blah, blah, blah. Jin is probably going to win…wait, what did I just say? Oh great, I really have lost it. Then I saw him standing in the center of the ring.

Edward…he's still here. I couldn't decide if I should be happy or not. I couldn't help, but feel relief in my heart, though. I smiled for the first time in days.

The announcer exclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, next up is Edward Elric vs. Walter James! Let the fight begin." I was really curious on how Ed was going to do, so I sat up straight and watched intently. Walter was struggling. He kept trying to lay punches on Ed, but he easily dodged every single one of them. Ed then flipped over to the back of the guy, turned around, and clapped his hands together and slammed them on the floor, causing a bright light. Next thing I know, there is a cage surrounding Walter. I look at the big screen television that shows Ed smirking. He looks super hot. Depression is starting to fall over me again. I continued watching.

Ed casually walked up to the guy and stuck his tongue out at him. I giggled. The guy tried to break the bars, but they were too strong for him. Ed then punched his face from outside the cage and Walter fell over onto his back, knocked out unconscious. Ed spat on the guy and walked off the ring.

"And the winner is Edward!"

Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious!

So maybe Ed can defeat Jin. I still don't know, though. Jin has a hidden power, I can sense it, but I bet Ed does too, so who's going to win?

The day _finally_ ended. I sat up and stretched. Rose patted me on the back and smiled.

"I saw you smile," she said. She simply walked off. People like to do that. I mean, walk off after saying something smart or whatever. Well, so do I.

We were about to walk out, but I saw Ed walking my way. I started to freak out. What to say, oh, what to say! He stopped right at the side of me, without making any eye contact.

"I will prove to you I can win, and show you what my love truly means," and he walked away with that. How nice it was to here his voice again. I could smell him still from here. There was still hope. I just need to be strong and have faith.

A/N: I thought it was unnecessary to write more. So here the chapter comes to an end. I actually enjoyed writing this chapter…it was pretty easy, too. It came out exactly how I wanted it. Anyways, please review because they really do encourage me to keep me writing this story. Oh yeah, one more thing. Fayte Angel said that I should do an Ed POV kind of thing. So it's up to you peeps to vote:

Yes: If you vote yes, then I will make it in Ed's POV, and it'll be during the time this chapter occured, except it'll be his thoughts.

No: If you vote no, that means you don't want me to do Ed's POV and I should just stick with Winry's POV, unless later I do a vote again.

Please vote! The sooner I get answers, the sooner I'll update! Thanks!

**Cathelina: **Don't worry, there's still hope! Thanks for reading :D

**mustang24: **Teeheehee, torture is totally wonderful and horrible at the same time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks!

**Goddess of Yesterday: **Ah yes, my spazztic friend of mine! A little bit of Al is going to be added, but he's not going to be a huge main character, unless I suddenly feel like making him one. Anyways, thanks for reading!

**GenericX: **Haha, expect good things to come ;) Thankies!

**Sailor N: **Jin will…well, I won't spoil it for you. You will all find out soon enough. Thanks for reading!

**Draconia-san: **Was this early enough? And Winry will come to her senses, she's smart. And don't die on me! does CPR

**WinryElric**: A cookie…a pony…A POTATO! OMG! I so want a potato, you're like, so awesome! Thanks so much!

**Unknown**: Haha, don't worry. All will be taken care of! Thanks for reading!

**Cammymcclanclan: **Oh no! Don't be sad! Good things are coming, don't worry! Teeheehee!

**AngolMoaChan: **Yeah, it kind of broke my heart when I wrote that. I started to slap myself, but yeah…sowwy! XD Thanks for reading!

**Fayte Angel: **Dudette, that's actually a pretty good idea, to make something in Ed's POV. You guys have to vote! And I wouldn't exactly call Winry a jerk, she's just a little confused. But if that's your opinion, then that's your opinion! Thanks for reading!

**Spearette: **Hehe, what's a story without drama? Jin is like gym with an n. Thanks for reading!

Make sure you review! Cause like, y'all rox my sox in a box with a fox with polka dots…


	9. Edward's Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: Hey peeps! Well, I've decided I'm going to try an Ed POV for a change. Trust me, though, I won't make it a habit. I like doing Winry's POV. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

The Chosen One

Ch.9

I couldn't believe her. I wouldn't. None of this made sense! I looked around and realized my surroundings. It was a dark street, deserted. I kicked a can on the floor out of frustration. Her hurtful words flooded through my mind…

"_Ed, I'm sorry. I love you too, but…we have to realize this isn't some silly fairy tale. Ed, I'm sorry, but I think its best that we shouldn't see each other anymore."_

I could tell Winry didn't mean what she said to, even though her words kept haunting my mind. Her baby blue eyes were filled of confusion. I could sense it. Wow, I feel real cheesy. I chuckled to myself.

Damn it, Winry! Why are you doing this to me? Why are you doing this to yourself? Her dad…I can't even begin to describe how I felt about him at the moment. I mean, it's amazing how his words so easily manipulated Winry. Though before she was questioning our love, so maybe it sort of helped it melt in her. But I thought we got it all figured out. I just don't understand.

I couldn't go to sleep. Images of Winry kept popping into my mind. What happened early was disturbing every one of my thoughts. I was scared that this wouldn't be fixed. I need to prove to her that this could work.

This is why I've decided to stay in the tournament. I mean, first of all, no way in hell am I going to let Jin win. No way. I need to protect Winry from him. Scratch that out, I need to protect Winry from _everything_, which leads me to my second reason…

I can't live without her.

She completes me. This empty spot in my heart is in need for her. It pleads to have her love back. I don't think I can live without her.

It's funny, actually. The moment I saw her, my heart skipped a beat. I felt a warm, comforting tingle as her voice reached my ears. I was already in love with her by that point. I didn't think I was _actually_ going to fall in love with her, or her fall in love with me. And I'm so glad we were brought together.

I inhaled a deep breath. I really needed to work things out. I needed some sleep too. So I turned to my side and empty, excuse me, tried to empty these thoughts, but they continued to plague my mind. I eventually fell asleep.

_I was walking along the path around the park. A few white clouds covered the sky, the sun beaming down onto the city, and kids ran around and chased each other, laughing with one another, having fun. I sighed as I kept scanning across the playground. And then I came across a girl on one of the swings. Everyone disappeared. My lips curled up a bit as I started walking towards her. Her gaze then caught into mine. A grin appeared on her face. Her blonde hair swayed with the rhythm of the wind, a few strands hanging over her face. She looked so beautiful._

_I went behind her and gently pushed her back, causing her to swing forward. I continued on and soon her laughter filled the air. I went along and laughed with her. I stopped the swing to wrap my arms around her waist, needing to feel her warmth against me. I rested my chin on top of her head and she wrapped her arms my neck. We stayed like this for who knows how long._

"_Save me."_

_I gasped. She released me and turned towards me. Tears swelled her eyes. _

_Once again she said, "Save me."_

_I pulled her into me and embraced her._

"_Don't worry, I'll save you," I heard myself saying._

"_Promise?" she asked._

"_Yes, I promise…Winry."_

A knock on my doorawoke me. My eyes stayed closed, though.

I heard the door creak open and footsteps drew near me. I ignored them, hoping that whoever it was would think I was still asleep and would leave me alone.

"Hey brother." It was Al.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Why did he have to turn on the light on his way in?

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing!" I answered a little too quickly.

"Ed, I know something's bothering you."

I sighed. I didn't want to tell him. Maybe because I didn't want to believe that it really happened. I can still imagine us right now, in each other's arms. A missed feeling. The day I expressed my love to her, she practically dumped me. How sad is that?

"I rather not talk about it," I mumbled. He nodded and started to get up until I said, "Winry, doesn't think we should be together."

Like mom always said, it's best to talk about her problems to others instead of holding them in.

"Why? I thought you two loved each other I mean, the night you were at Winry's house, you seemed pretty cozy with her and…"

"Have you been spying on us!"

Al put his hands over his metal mouth and laughed nervously. Caught red-handed.

"Ok, so maybe a little…"

"Al!" I bonked him on the head.

"Agh! Brother! My point is," he said as he scooted away from me, "that you two were doing fine! I mean, what happened?"

I looked down, feeling a little depressed. So I told him the story. I would pause every time I said Winry's name. I just couldn't get her out of my mind. I didn't want to get her out of my mind. You see how stubborn I can be? Just picturing her crying made me want to hold her and tell her everything was going to be ok. Now I couldn't though. She was out of my reach. What if I'll never be able to hold her again? Then I remembered my dream.

"Al, do you think you could leave me alone for a while?"

"Sure brother. If you need anything, just call out for me." He left the room. I lay back down and stared at the ceiling. My dream…what did it mean? I couldn't believe that my dream had no reason behind it. Maybe it was sign, but of what? Why did she keep saying 'Save me'? Save her from what? I smiled when I remember cradling her in my arms. It felt so real, though. I felt her body against mine, her heat passing through me. How I longed to do that again.

I needed to decipher this dream.

I got up and did my usual morning routine. I found Al watching TV, lounging on the couch. I went into the kitchen and made some coffee. I still felt pretty tired, so I needed a little energy boost. All day I tried to find out what those two words mean:

"Save me."

"Hurry up, brother! We're already late as it is!" Al yelled from downstairs.

"Do I have to go?" I grumbled, pulling the covers over my head.

I heard Al groan, "Please Ed, don't be ridiculous!" He came upstairs, picked me up, and threw me over his shoulders. How dare he treat me like that! I banged on his back and kicked my legs around for him to let go. But _no, _he wouldn't.

"Hey, put me down!" I demanded, but would he listen? No! This ticked me off.

I was about to burst out some rude comments, but Al interrupted me.

"Ed, you have to. No point in running away from it. Eventually you're going to have to see Winry again. Besides, we both need to go to this tournament because…"

"Yeah, I know, it's just…I'm scared of what her reaction will be when she sees me there. Maybe she'll run up to me and hit me with her wrench." I twitched just thinking about it.

We were at the car by now and Al threw me in the backseat before I could even attempt to run away. I grunted and turned my head away. Al beat me on this one. Actually he always beats me…damn it!

Aw man, I was so freaking nervous now. I was most likely going to run into Winry at the tournament today, or at least see her. If I do, I'm going to have to fight the temptation to pull her into my arms and taste her upon my lips. Oh so hard.

We arrived way too quickly. Al had to drag me out of the car and all the way inside the building. I then hid behind Al the whole time, just in case we'd run into Winry.

Al and I made our way to the competitor's room, where everyone waited for their turn to fight. I went up to the schedule that hung on the wall. I was in the last fight.

The matches already started. I went over to where the big screen was and sat on the couch in front it.

"I saw what happened last night. What a bummer…"Roy laughed to my right. I didn't answer back. "Many of us were there to witness it. It was quite entertaining if you ask me…"

"Shut up!"

He laughed at me.

I shot up and quickly walked away from him. I wasn't about to sit there and have him speak to me like that. Too bad it didn't end there.

"You never even had a chance wither. What a waste of time!"

"Yeah, she probably never loved you anyways."

"She loves somebody else…somebody better."

That last voice sent me off.

"I loved her and will always love her more than anyone could. I'll care for her unlike you scum. You guys all just want power, and I will not stand by and watch Winry marry one of you! She deserves better!"

Everyone continued to hang that evil smirk on their faces. It pissed me off. I turned to Jin.

"'She'll never love you Jin!" He was the one who said that last comment.

He chuckled, "She's just not ready to love me…yet."

"Why do you keep playing games with her? She's not a toy!" I wanted to knock him down right then and there. I had to restrain myself. Al was behind me, just in case he had to hold me back.

Jin just laughed and walked out of the room. I clenched my fist together and punched the wall.

"Now I have even more reason to be here…to defeat Jin," I said to no one in particular.

I sat in a chair on one of the corners of the room, waiting for my turn. I felt bad for the guy who was going to fight me. I'm going to take out all my anger at him.

"Ladies and gentleman, next up is Edward Elric vs. Walter James! Let the fight begin," the announced exclaimed, pumping the crowd up. The stadium roared. I knew where Winry was, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to look even close to the direction she was.

I took at my opponent. Psh, no sweat. He's too full of himself. I could tell.

"Haha, I heard about you and Princess Winry. Too bad I missed it. Oh well, she deserves someone a little more many."

"Say whatever you want. I'm still going to kick your butt!" I smirked back. He then ran towards me and tried to lay punches.

"You have a big mouth for such lame throws."

He grunted and continued going at me. I didn't need to waste anymore of my time. I flipped over to the back of him, and decided to use a little alchemy. I clasped my hands together and set them on the ground. I made a cage surround Walter. He was trying to struggle out.

"You're wasting you time!" I yelled at him.

"Even if I lose, Jin's going to win anyways. You're nothing compared to him. You're a piece of…"

I punched him as hard as I could. At first, I pictured him as a punching bag. But picturing him as Jin made it even easier to knock him out.

"And the winner is Edward!"

Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious!

I spat on the guy and walked off the ring. Today's matches were over.

"Good job, brother! You beat him so easily!" Al said while running up to me.

I put my hand behind my head and smiled, "Haha, it was nothing."

We headed out to the main hall, but then I spotted her…Winry. Seeing her made me realize how much I love her. I was so happy to see her face again, with her perfect eyes and smile. I wasn't about to go up and give her a big squeeze, though, as much as I wanted to. She needed to know that I'm serious. So I strolled by her, without making contact. When I reached to the side of her, I could smell her usual vanilla fragrance. It soothed me.

"I will prove to you I can win and show you what my love truly means," and then I continued walking. I wanted to look back and see her reaction, but instead I kept on going.

I was going to beat Jin, prove to Winry our love means something…I will win her heart.

A/N: Good enough? I think I made Ed a little too sappy and I should have made him more stubborn. Oh well :P Please review, by the way, made the new review's reply thingy, so for now on I'll be answering to you guys that way, since it's not allowed to be posted anymore. And thanks for all the reviews! Many of them are super helpful and I appreciate every single one of them. So review and hope you enjoyed the chapter. And to clear something up, this is in the present, just with some aspects of the past. Yeah…make sense :P I'll try and update soon!


	10. Learn to Trust, Learn to Believe

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: Wow…I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated. It's been busy over the holidays, so I couldn't exactly get to the story. Anyways, enjoy this chapter and I will REALLY try to update more than I have been.

The Chosen One

Ch.10

_I kept running. For how long, who knows? All I know is that I'm broken. My life has shattered into tiny little pieces that like to poke into you when you step on them. I found myself surrounded by metal walls. I punched them with my knuckles, causing them to bleed. I cried out, but not because of my knuckles, but because I felt lost and confused. I didn't know where I was, what direction my life turned. I just wanted to fix things. But this metal wall was blocking my way. _

_As I continued punching, the walls shifted, and started to move closer together. They were going to crush me. I screamed._

"_Wait!" I screamed. The walls didn't stop._

"_Please!" I begged. "I need to go back home, go back to Edward, fix things between us!"_

_The walls slowed down._

"_I've done this to Ed, made his life miserable, just because I didn't believe in him. But then I realized how much life he has, and how much he cares for it…how much he cares for me. He put himself together, now I need to do the same for me! Just please, I beg of you, let me continue on. Let me be with Edward! Let me believe him! Let me trust him!"_

_The walls stopped. The top wall started to open, and there he was. He lent his hand to me, and I gratefully took it. _

"_Thank you," I said._

"_No, thank you," he said in a whisper._

"_For what?" I asked in the same tone._

"_For believing in me."_

_

* * *

_

I slowly opened my eyes, being awoken by the bright sun shining between my blinds. Then I smiled.

No longer was I confused. No longer was I locked up in a room surrounded by metal walls. No longer was I blocked out from the light. No longer was I going to lay here and do nothing!

I sat up and ran to Rose's room.

I needed to say sorry to Edward. I needed him to know how I feel, how tortured I feel, and that without him I feel so empty. But I needed to know how to say it. I mean, I can't just walk in and say "Oh yeah, sorry about the other night. Let's just forget about it and move on, ok?"

Yeah right.

"Come in!" Rose called after I knocked like, a dozen times.

"What are you doing?" I asked, finding her sitting on her bed with papers and pictures spread out on the comforter.

"Making a scrapbook," she answered while gluing on a picture of Rose and I at a festival. Those were the good old days.

"Umm…I really need your help."

Rose looked up from her project and raised her eyebrow.

"You have my attention."

I went and sat at a clear spot on her bed and sighed, "So how…do you say sorry?"

Rose tapped her chin, indicating that her romance thinking cap was on.

"You need to describe the situation," she said.

I practically fell, "ARE YOU SAYING THAT ED WAS PART OF THIS? I NEVER SAID THAT!"

"Umm, I never said anything about Edward, Winry. Are you saying he's a part of this?" She smirked. I give you one word.

Evil.

"Ok, look, I love Ed. You know that, I know that. Can we move on?" I shortly put it.

"Well, tell me how you feel about him."

"Before I met him, I was Princess Winry. I was friends with no one outside the castle, I was told what to wear and what to do all the time, and I had no time to myself. My life was planned out. I was going to live happily ever after with Prince Jin." I laughed to myself. "What a load of that. When I met Edward though, I felt as if life had more meaning and…just different things changed in my life, in a good way. No longer do I feel as if I'm Princess Winry, but that I'm Winry Rockbell. The best part is…I fell in love. I would smell the air and actually notice what it smelled like. Every time I see him, my hearts melts and I can't think straight, I can only think of how much I love him. And if he left my life, it would become even worse than what it once was. He saved me from a meaningless life, a life without love. I love Edward. Life without him is unimaginable."

Rose smiled. She grabbed a picture of Ed and me sitting on a bench smiling to each other with the sunlight reflecting off our hair. She glued it on and wrote under it "with the shining sun and beautiful hearts, a true love was born."

"Now go tell him that."

* * *

I looked at his front porch. It was nice and cute, with a welcome sign on the door, and a bench swing next to it. It was a two story house, and had nicely cut lawn in the front with lilies and lavenders outlining it. I breathed in slowly, knowing that this had to be done, so I rang the doorbell. 

It took a few minutes and few more knocks until the door finally opened. With a sort of relief, it was Al.

"Hello Winry, it's nice to see you again," he greeted.

"You too," I slightly grinned.

"You here to see my brother?"

I nodded. Al opened the door wide, indicating for me to go inside. It was a normal house. A few pictures on the walls here and there, though I've noticed a lot of them with a woman holding two little boys. Then I realized it was Al and Ed, and their mom.

A whole flow of questions entered my brain, but before I could even go through them, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I hesitated from turning around; pretty much knowing it was Edward by his scent. I slowly rotated my body, more like forcing it, and finally met Ed's gaze. A long moment passed.

I was trying to say to Edward what I said to Rose. I even rehearsed it a few times. But the words didn't want to come out. All I really wanted to do was stare at Ed and hope that this would fix things somehow.

The next thing I know I'm tearing up and Ed is hugging me, repeating "it's ok" every five seconds.

"Edward…" More tears came down. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean all those things that I said, how this wasn't worth it, because it means more than anything to me. I should have trusted you Ed! This is so embarrassing, I mean, how that should just solve all our problems. I owe way more to you then a simple sorry, not after all that's happened. I just felt so confused, my mind was being tossed around and mixed up, and…I just didn't know what to do." I cried silently, waiting for Ed's answer.

"All you owe me is your love and trust, Winry. That's all I want from you…and don't feel embarrassed, because I can understand why you felt mixed up. I love you." He squeezed me tighter. Happiness spread through my body like a plague, except a good one.

After hugging and saying sorry several more times, we went into the kitchen and made some hot cocoa. We sat in his living room, which had an elegant theme. A gorgeous, marble fireplace was set up on one wall, with a dark brown, antique coffee table in the middle of the room. There were also more pictures of his family.

It was silent for a long time. I took a quick peek at Ed and saw him looking down at his cocoa, so I did the same.

"So how've you been?" Ed asked in a soft whisper.

I sighed, "Eh."

"Me too," he answered.

Another long silence.

"Is that your mom?" I asked pointing towards a picture of who I think is her, hugging Ed.

He looked down, "Yeah."

I knew this seemed like a delicate subject, but I really needed to know.

"What happened?" I looked at him considerately.

Ed stayed silent. I decided not to go further into the subject, regretting for bringing it up.

Al walked in the room, "She died a while ago." So he's been listening. I guess that's natural for little brothers to do. It was hard to get use to the fact of him being the little brother since of his present body. The two brothers looked at each other intently. I was greatly confused.

"There is more to this, isn't there?" I asked. This wasn't my business, but like I said before, I needed to know.

"Winry, there is more reason to so much more than you know," Ed sternly said. He sounded really serious. "I didn't join the tournament to marry you…at first."

I stayed quiet.

"Al and I are here to stop a man named Scar." Oh, the mysterious guy. "He's planning to make the philosophers stone, and to create one you need to sacrifice live humans." I felt as if I was going to throw up in my mouth. I mean, live humans? "He's trying to get to the last round of the tournament, because he knows most of the military will be here to watch. He's going to make a large transformation circle around the whole stadium, and try to get as many civilians out as possible, though I'm still wondering how he's going to do that without causing suspicion. Then during the match he'll put his plan into work. Even if he doesn't make it to the last round, he'll still find a way."

It was hard to gather all this in. I knew he was in the tournament for another reason. I didn't know there was so much involved though, so many human lives. This whole plan was being set up right under our noses.

"How did you know all this?" I asked.

"He told me…he also wants me to help out, even though he knows I am absolutely against all of this. So I have to do something to stop him."

"Well, we just need to make sure he doesn't draw the circle, or…whatever that thing is," I suggested. He frowned.

"He already drew it." I laid my head back and looked at the ceiling. I couldn't believe this was happening. How are we supposed to stop him now? And what if his plan works? There is no way my parents are leaving, and there's no way that they're going to let me leave. What if he did it when my family was there? I started to cry.

Ed came and gently laid me against him and he stroked my hair, trying to comfort me. It wasn't doing any good this time.

"You have to stop him Ed. If he sets off the circle…my family will…" More tears formed.

"Don't worry, I'll stop him. I'll save your family…I'll save you." I nodded and closed my eyes.

"I believe you."

* * *

A/N: I was going to continue on from here, but I _really _needed to update. I'm too anxious XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully I can update more since the holidays are over. Make sure to review! Oh, and sorry if there are mistakes in this chapter. 


	11. Blow Up the What!

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Wow I haven't updated in a while. It's been a busy past few months, but I finally got to this. I also had trouble with the storyline and how I was going to work with this, but it's coming together as ideas come along. Sorry if I'm a little off this chapter since I haven't wrote in awhile. I'm so glad I finally updated though! By the way, I didn't exactly do a proofread, though I think I corrected my self on most things so bear with me. Enjoy!

How are we going to do this! I mean, family, remember? I can't just go up to my family and be like "Oh yeah, there's this guy that wants to blow up the stadium. Great, isn't it?" They won't believe me for a second!

"ED! I'M FREAKING OUT HERE!" I screamed from the kitchen, making some expresso for myself. Must stay awake, MUST STAY AWAKE!

"Please Winry, calm down," he laughed at my worrisome self.

"You're laughing at a time like this? Are you serious Edward, don't you even push my buttons right now!" I shot back at him.

"Winry," he cracked up once again, "I…can't…stop…laughing."

"EDWARD! What happen to all that "support" crap, mister munchkin?"

That grabbed his attention.

"What did you call me?" he stood up and started towards my way.

"Short, little bratty kid!" I yelled.

"I AM NOT A KID! If you weren't so freaking moody we wouldn't be bickering like this!"

I cracked up. "Bickering? I can't believe you just said bickering."

"What's wrong with that word?" Ed questioned. I fell onto the tile floor, close to tears. I don't understand how we got to my family and the entire military being in danger, to laughing and arguing by being short and stupid words. I cracked up even more because of the irony.

Ed began to laugh to. A few seconds later, we were both on the floor, clenching are stomachs.

Ed pulled me into him. "So what were we arguing about?"

"I have no idea!"

Then he sat up quickly, wide-eyed.

"What's up?" I asked, rubbing my ass from being dropped on the floor.

"I've got it! We'll move the tournament to a different stadium."

I stared blankly at him. Is he serious? That would never work. Never. I mean, were talking about all the decorating and planning and money put into the stadium all gone to waste. Totally ridiculous.

"That's cute Ed," I went back to my coffee.

"What? It's perfect. That way there is no way Scar can make another circle and everyone won't be blown up into pieces!"

"Yeah, and please enlighten me with a plan to convince the committee of the tournament and my parents into moving the stadium!"

Edward paced back and forth for a few minutes. I loved how his braid swayed between the windows' sunlight and shadow. I smiled.

"I have a plan!" Edward exclaimed.

"Whoa, coyboy! Keep your pants on!" I laughed from his excitement. I should be the one excited right now, actually. A plan is a _good _thing, Winry. A good thing.

"I'll blow the stadium up!"

I spit out my expresso all over Edward, causing him to scream from the hot drink.

"I am so sorry!" I came rushing over with a towel, wiping my spit off him.

"What was that for?" he crossed his arms, stubbornly. So cute.

"Do you know how preposterous that sounds? Say that to yourself again and you'll understand."

"I couldn't be any more serious, though! I won't do it in front of anyone. We'll frame someone…someone…"

"Jin!" I jumped in.

"No, that wouldn't work. He knows too many high top people in the state. It won't work."

I grumbled. I was just trying to help.

"We'll frame Scar," Ed declared.

"Ok, as if he'll take bullshit like that. You know that won't work. He'll…he'll do something, probably. I mean, he's the one who planned the whole blow-up stadium thingy," I struck back. Ed didn't even flinch.

"Don't worry, we'll do it. I'll tell him to meet me at the stadium tonight. I'll take care of it there."

"And what do I do?"

He shrugged, "Nothing really. Don't worry; I'll take care of it Winry." He was about to leave when I tackled him onto the floor.

"Oh no you don't! What about me? I want to help out. I'm not some useless toy that you can include and exclude me whenever you want."

He pushed me off him, which I must say, was very painful.

"Winry, let me take care of it."

I didn't even bother saying anything else. He kissed me on the cheek, sat up, and left. I can't believe he just did that! No way, I don't take the kind of crap from anyone; especially Edward! He should no better than that. My stubbornness is as bad as his. Then I looked around. This was his house, not mine. And he just left me here, how rude! Time for revenge.

I went into the bathroom and grabbed all his toilet paper from the cabinet under the sink. Then I went into the kitchen and grabbed some syrup and honey. Time to slime! I covered all of his furniture with toilet paper and spread syrup and honey all on his couch and bed. After his long night with Scar, I'm sure he'll want a nice comfortable bed with oodles of stickiness. Oh, what a bundle of joy!

I am so lame.

I finally left and went back to my place. I snuck back into the castle and yelled up to Rose's window.

"Pss, Rose," I said as loud as I could without anyone hearing me.

No sign of Rose.

I grabbed a rock and through it at her window. Instead of the rock bouncing back down though, the window shattered.

"Oh shit!" I yelled a little too loud and ran for it. I am such a dumbass! The windows are glass, not plastic! I could already hear voices behind me. I walked down the outside corridor when I saw a guard walking from across the way, looking the other way. I quickly ran behind the wall and stopped breathing. I hate the feeling when your heart is pounding and it feels like your stomach is coming up your throat. He walked by, without noticing me, even though I crunched on a stick, but like a stupid idiot, the guard looked up. I ran the opposite way and didn't look back.

Why am I hiding anyways? My parents probably already know that I've been gone. I don't even want to know my punishment. I scrambled across the yard, passed a few more corridors, up a flight of stairs and there was a door to the library, which was right across from my room. Why didn't I think of this before?

I quietly opened the door and peeked in to see if anyone was in there. And out of all people it was my dad. He looked towards the door and I went behind the door so he wouldn't notice me. I looked over a bit to see if he was still looking this way, and saw he was back to his book. The door was right behind him.

I didn't even bother closing the door when I crawled inside on the floor, since I know for sure my dad would have looked. I went behind a chair and peered over and saw my dad was still preoccupied in his book. I crawled towards the backside of his chair when a maid from the door I left open came in. He sat up and I swiftly went under his chair. I realized this was probably the worst spot to hide, but also the only.

"Your Majesty," she bowed, "the Queen would like to speak to you, sir."

He patted her head, "Thank you..uh…er…"

"It's Melanie, sir," she finished for him.

"Right, Melanie." Yes, he's leaving!

"Just give me five more minutes, please. I'm close to finishing my book." And there goes my hope.

"Yes your Majesty," and she left. My dad turned and walked towards the chair. I was freaking now. Oh what to do! I closed my eyes, even though I knew that wouldn't have worked, but I felt a tiny bump on my head, and realized that he sat down. I crawled out from under the seat, opened the door, even if I made a lot of noise, and ran to my room. I hope he didn't see me. I caught up with my breath when there was a knock on my door.

Oh crap.

"Winry, are you in here?"

It was my dad. Should I answer? I don't know, I don't know!

He opened my door anyways, and I simply smiled at him. And here comes the end of me…

"Lunch will be ready in five. I need to first speak to your mother. Wonder what she needs now," he chuckled and closed me door.

What just happened? Then I figured it out. He thought I was in my bedroom the whole time! Yes, of course! I can't believe how well that worked out.

Now it was time for me to talk to Rose. I went into her room without knocking and shut the door. She looked furious.

"Can you believe it? Look at this!" I had no idea what she was talking about until I saw broken pieces of glass on her floor. I almost forgot about that.

"What kind of asshole would do such a thing? The little bitch!"

I blushed, but turned away. "Oh yeah, total bitch. I would so beat her up." Another heart clenching moment.

"I will find out who she is Winry, just you watch!"

Time to change the subject. "So Rose, uh, I talked to Edward."

She turned to perky Rose all of a sudden and jumped onto her bed. "Talk to me!"

"Well, we made up."

"That's great! Except you aren't at all ecstatic, which I find odd."

"Well, you know that weird guy Scar that signed up for the tournament," I started.

"Yeah, I remember him."

"He drew an alchemy circle thingy around the stadium and so now we need to blow up the stadium so that he won't get away with it…"

"Wait, hold up. Did I hear blow up the stadium? That will never work!"

"I said the same thing. But we're going to frame Scar and say that he did it. Tonight Ed is going to meet him at the stadium and pretend he's helping him with the hold plan, but instead…uh…somehow framing him."

"How?"

"Not sure, but he said he has it "all covered." I said I could help, but no, he didn't want my help!"

Rose gasped. "That little butt! I say we go over there and snoop on them!"

"What!" I looked at her crazily. I knew we shouldn't. It can ruin everything! Bad idea, a total bad…

"Let's go!" Rose grabbed my arm and we were out the door.

"Not now!" I said. "It's not until, like, later on tonight."

"Fine, we'll get there at 11:00 and wait for a while. We have to see what happens. I mean, he might need our help after all."

"You weren't even part of this in the first place," I mumbled.

----------------

Rose and I were hidden behind a rock waiting for Scar and Edward. We've been waiting for two hours now.

"Winry, I thought you said tonight! We so did not have to go through what we had to for this!"

She was right. It was so hard to sneak out. Think of this morning, but ten times worst. We ended up getting caught three times until we got out of there finally by the fourth.

"I hear footsteps," Rose whispered. I put my index fingers in front of both of our mouths while the footsteps drew near. Then came voices.

"Alright Ed, you remember what we went through?" That was Scar's voice. Then Ed answered with "Yeah, I got it."

"Ok, so let's review. We'll be fighting right? And then we'll both blow each other out of the stadium and you know what to do from there."

"We'll perform the transmutation circle, don't worry, I know what to do."

I was wondering why they were whispering during this whole thing, but I saw that there were guards right by the gates of the stadium and on the outskirts.

Scar nodded, "Ok, good."

Ed said, "Oh and one more thing." He turned towards the stadium, clapped his hands together, and slapped them on the ground. Suddenly the ground beneath us started to shake and Rose and I held each other tightly. A crack was going from his clap through the ground and through the stadium, making it collapse. Luckily all the guards, or at least all the ones I see, have run away from the stadium unharmed. When the dust and dirt finally cleared, I saw Scar holding Edward to the ground.

"Edwa…" Rose put her hand over my mouth from saying anything.

"I knew you were going to pull something like this! Damn you, Edward!"

"You should of known I wouldn't have let you gotten away with this Scar!"

Scar socked Ed in the face and then in the gut. He grunted in pain and coughed up a little blood. I wanted to stop Scar, but Rose kept holding me back.

"Well, guess what? You'll now be banned from the…" Before Scar could say anything else, he was jumped by five guards. Scar was about to blow all of them off, but suddenly roots sprang from the ground and tangled Scar, kind of like what Ed did to Jin.

"I tried to stop him!" Ed complained. "But he blew up the stadium. That asshole blew up the stadium!"

Scar turned steaming red, "EDWARD! How dare you! He did it!"

The guards seemed to believe Edward since having Scar on top of Ed did not make it look so good for him.

"Thanks kid, we'll handle it from here," one of the guards said.

"I'M NOT A KID!" I couldn't help but giggle.

Edward stalked away mad, but ended up heading our direction. He looked over the rock and said, "Hm, spying are we?" I jumped and gave Ed a hug.

"Hey, what are you girls doing here?" We were gone before the guard could say anything else.

"Edward! You did it!" I jumped and hugged him.

"Yes I did!" Ed smiled and pointed his thumb to his chest. I locked my arm around his. Rose jumped on Ed's back and yelled out "Go Edward! Go Edward!"

The three of us laughed. I felt a huge relief. My family was now safe, and the military, even though I don't really like them military. Now it was back to worrying about the tournament. Back to worrying about Jin. Back to worrying about losing Edward. But for now, I was happy.

Author's Note (again): Good? Bad? Not too shabby? I hope it was ok. I know you were probably expecting more from all of this, but I'm actually trying to hurry with this story so I can move on to a new one. Sorry about that, but I'll make it a worth while ending...or at least try. I don't know when the ending will be yet, though. Probably a few more chapters. Depends how things go. R&R and I'll try to update soon (you're all probably annoyed by me saying this). Toodles.


	12. What Bet?

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

Author's Note: A quick update. I'm going to try and keep this up since I'm really enjoying how this story is coming along. Enjoy!

----------------------------

"I'd like to make a toast," I announced, raising my wine glass. Edward, Rose, and I were celebrating at a local restaurant (though I had to disguise myself in a cheesy brunette wig and glasses). The other two raised their glasses as well.

"First off, I would like to thank Edward Elric for…"

"Kicking ass!" Rose slurred. She's already a bit tipsy.

"Yes that, but also for saving my family and everyone else who was going to attend the tournament. I can't thank you enough for that. So cheers to a successful night!"

We all clink our glasses together.

I could see from the corner of my eye that Edward was staring at me. I could feel myself blush.

"So all I have to do now is beat the crap out of Jin and all the other guys in the tourney, no problem!" Edward said a little too confidently.

"Edward, please take this a little more serious. The guys are tougher than you think," I warned him.

He smirked, "You think that I can't take them?"

"Of course I think you can! I know you can!"

"Great. Then no worries!"

Except there were. I mean, it's getting more competitive as the tournament continues. Semi-finals are right after the next round. What if Ed loses? I'll be stuck with some complete loser I gulp all my wine down.

"You ok, Winry?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled as sweetly as I could. Ed turned to Rose and explained the whole idea of alchemy. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. You know when you have those moments when something in your life is about to change drastically. Well, I'm having one of those. Tears came no matter how hard I fought them. I hate crying.

"Winry!" It was Rose. "Hurry uhhh so eh can use ta poddy, I wink I wanna be ick." Translation: Hurry up so I can use the potty, I think I'm gonna be sick. I splashed water onto my face, not like it helped. I still had ongoing tears. I nonchalantly walked out of the restroom and hurried to another part of the restaurant without Rose noticing me.

I stopped in my tracks when I heard, "Oh look who it is!"

I already went from scared to happy to sad and now I'm about to enter the stage of rage.

"Jin, not now!" I yelled.

Jin smiled innocently, "Why the yelling? I'm simply in here for a cup of coffee."

"At four in the morning?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

I rolled my eyes. I came over to Ed and sat in his lap. I don't even think he knows Jin is here.

"Look who's here," I pointed to Jin who was staring straight at us.

Edward shot straight up and rushed towards Jin, "Get out of here!"

"Aw, what's the matter kid? Need a diaper mister pissed off?"

Jin just loves causing trouble.

"I AM NOT A KID!" Ed raged, even though it sounded like a whine. Jin mimicked him by skipping around and saying "Oh, look at me, I'm little Edward, annoying as hell!"

"Grow up," I crossed my arms.

"Well, nice seeing you again Winry, but I must be going. Just came to grab my drink," Jin lifted his cup as if he was cheering with me, and drank it. He slammed the cup down.

"By the way, Edward, you still remember our little bet right?"

Ed turned pale. What was Jin talking about?

"What bet?" I asked Jin, coming closer to him.

"He never told you?"

"Jin, don't!" He covered Jin's mouth. Something is seriously up.

"Ed, what's going on?" I stomped my foot. I saw the waiter watching this whole thing.

Jin swung Ed's hand off and stepped closer to me. "We made a bet on whoever loses can never see you again. Great, isn't it? I mean, I'll win, and Ed will never see you again. See Winry," he slaps my butt, "everything works out." He left.

I can't…even talk. Describe in words what just happened. How…why? Then it hit. That night at the pool when Jin came. That's what he talked about to him. He made that stupid bet. I turned and slapped Ed.

"How dare you Ed! You kiss me and then make a bet that can make us never see each other again? Are you serious?"

Ed was struggling for words, "Winry, I…I can explain!"

"Save it!" I ran out of the door crying and left. How can he do this to me? That night was so special to me, and now, it's my worst day ever. He made a bet, A BET ABOUT US! Was he even thinking? I mean, if he loses…I can never see him again! He doesn't even understand that! This whole tournament is a game to him. How am I supposed to know he even cares about me if he agreed to the bet? Ugh, why is this happening to me?

------------------------

I woke up from a long sleep and shot up when I found the time to be two P.M. I threw on some clothes and rushed downstairs where my mother was talking to…Princess Umi? What was she doing here?

"What's going on?" I asked. Oh no. I just realized that I look terrible. Here comes some insults and rants for Umi.

"You look…nice," Umi smiled. Fake!

"Winry!" my mother rushed to get me. "You are going to be late for your princess meeting. Now you two hurry up, Amy and Molly are waiting for you in the guest room."

A princess meeting? I was never informed of this! The last thing I need to do is deal with the obnoxious girls right now. I mean, hello, I kind of got in a fight with my…well; I wouldn't actually call him my boyfriend since we weren't exactly dating. Wait, what were we then? Did he consider us dating?

"Winry! Go, now!"

"Going!" Umi already left, which means there are all going to rant on how I was the last one to arrive. I walked in the dining room and right away they yelled at me. Guess I was right.

"Look who's late now! Princess Amy pointed out, proud of herself.

"So you were a minute ahead of me, congratulations," I sat down and grumbled.

"Thank you!" She obviously did not sense the sarcasm.

"So what have you been up to lately, Princess Winry?" Princess Molly asked. She crossed her legs and laid her chin on her hand and looked at me intently. So she really is interested in my life. Just great. I wonder if I should tell them my situation. They're girls, so maybe they'll understand.

"Boy troubles." The three perked up.

"You and Jin having sex?"

"Are you having an affair?"

"Abusive relationship?"

Ok, so I didn't expect all this from them. "No! Not like that! I mean, my…um…somewhat boyfriend made a bet with Jin that whoever loses can't see me anymore. I mean, what if I can't see Ed ever again?" I can't believe I'm telling them all this.

"Edward? Isn't he in the tournament?"

"So you are having an affair!"

"I am not having an affair! Here I am, trying to get some advice from you guys, and all you can think of is sex and affairs and stuff! Now please, focus here!" I'm making a huge mistake in trusting these girls. They are vile and vicious, and surely this is a big waste of my time.

Princess Molly stood up and gave me a hug, to my surprise. "Look, we understand you are pissed off about this whole relationship. But you know how guys are. They're stubborn and will never let their guard down when it comes to manliness. I'm guessing Jin made the bet, and Edward knew if he turned it down, he's look weak. You just need to look at his perspective."

I was seriously gaping at her. Since when has she become the master of advice? She was right, though. Ed is the most stubborn guy I've ever seen. Maybe I overreacted a little bit. But still, he should no better.

"Thanks, that really helped me," I hugged her back.

"Well, duh! Anyone could have figured that one out," Princess Amy said with that stupid girly girl voice.

"At least she was kind enough to help me out! What about you, how's your "perfect" life going? I heard you divorced your husband, got remarried, and divorced again. Things seem to be going well for you!" Amy looked down at the ground. That will get her to shut up.

"I'm going to go now since I'm so not in the mood for this!" I practically swung my chair back to the wall with my foot and walked out to leave. So nerve racking! She's like this annoying headache that will never go away. I went up into my room and found Rose in their. You can tell she just woke up from a hang over.

"Need some medicine?" I asked. She groaned and rolled over. She wasn't looking too well.

"No, what I need is the 411," Rose sat up slowly with her hand on her head.

"Huh?"

"You know, about you leaving Edward. What happened? I tried to talk to him, but he just wouldn't even say a word."

"You won't even believe it! He made this stupid bet with…"

"Me."

I jumped from the sudden interruption. I turned around and saw it was Jin. Are you kidding me?

"What are you doing here? Get out now!" I went over and shoved him out of me room. He tripped on to the floor.

"What's the matter with you?" Jin yelled. Turns out my parents were watching this whole scene and quickly rushed over.

"Winry, what is up with you lately?" my dad demanded to know.

"Rose, can you excuse us?" my mother asked. Rose nodded and left the room. I didn't want her to go. She's my emotional support.

"Winry, lately you've been a little…off. Is there something going on?"

Ok, so this is a little weird for me. Usually my parents tend to bug out of my business rather than digging in it. They've always respected me that way, but now…I don't know. I've been changing. It's true. I went from goody-goody to well…not so goody-goody. Or at least I would like to think I'm not that way anymore.

"Um…"

"It's that stupid guy," Jin poked in. I threw a glare at him.

"You mean Edward? The one from the ball?" my dad asked. I have a feeling this won't turn out well.

"Yeah! He's trying to get her to go with him before the tournament is even over. Isn't that cheating?" Jin pushed on.

"What?" my voice cracked. I couldn't even think of a comeback. Must think of something quick!

"Yes it is as a matter of fact!" my dad said, turning to me. "Is this true?"

I shook my head. "He's just a friend!"

"Bullshit!" Jin retorted.

"What's wrong with you? Jealous?"

"Is there a reason for him to be jealous, Winry?" my mother asked. It's a trap, Winry. Focus here. Wait, why am I standing up for that jerk? He totally didn't consider my feelings. Oh yeah, because I don't want Jin to win this fight. Or is that just an excuse?

"Of course not! It's just… why would he be bitching about this?"

"Language!" both my parents yelled at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, he's just a friend."

"Who is changing you! Sir, you should understand. You've noticed as much as I have. She's arriving later than curfew, she's bitchier…"

"Speak for yourself you stalker!"

"Shut up!" Jin and I quickly shut our mouths. "Here's what's going to happen. Jin, bug out of her life until you win the tournament."

"If he wins the tournament," I corrected.

"Winry, you are not allowed to see this…boy anymore."

"What? No fair. He's my friend!"

"That's final!"

I pouted and stomped away. This sucks! I mean, I mad at him, but I won't be forever. Well, you know what? To make sure goody-goody Winry is out, I'll sneak out of the house every night. Yeah, become the rebel of the family. Hell yeah.

I am so lame.

I turned back around and came back to my parents and Jin. Jin was smiling because he knew he won. Well, we will see about that.

"I'll go see Ed if I want to," I put my hands on my hips and did that head circle thing. I haven't exactly mastered it yet, but I tried. Got to give some attitude.

"Excuse me young lady?" my father stared at me in disbelief.

"Don't make me repeat myself because I know you heard perfectly clear. So what if I'm a bitch now, it's better than who I was before. Only if you would have seen how miserable I was, but you two were so blinded. And now that I have a friend who has always helped me and cared for me, you want to take that away. Well, that's not happening. I don't care what you say; I'm going to see Edward."

I think I made a clear point. My dad was turning red though, which means…

"WINRY, DON'T YOU EVER TALK TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN! YOU WILL NOT SEE EDWARD AND THAT'S FINAL!"

It means that he'll blow up.

"I'll do what I want," I said without a crack in my voice. I felt so confident, sticking up for myself. Thank you Edward for rubbing your stubbornness onto me. I once again walked away, even if my dad was yelling for me to come back. I wasn't taking this stupid crap from them anymore. I know it'll come to bite me in the butt, but I'm enjoying my moment. Besides, I have more important things to worry about.

The quarter finals are tomorrow, where Edward could possibly be eliminated. What if he loses on purpose because of our fight? Well, actually, it was his fault for making that stupid bet. But still…I feel like I need to talk to him. Make sure that everything is ok. No

Winry, you are pissed at him. Very pissed. I'll probably blow if I see him. I need a nap. I'll worry about this tomorrow.

-------------------------------

How was this chapter? Don't worry, next chapter will have more action in it. It'll be the quarter finals! Hmm…there is probably about 5-6 chapters left in this story, more or less. I only got four reviews last chapter (which I'm grateful for, by the way), but keep them coming because all of you are the ones who keep me going! R&R!


	13. The Quarter Finals

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

Author's Note: Hey people! Thanks for the reviews, I'm a very happy person :) Short note, more of me babbling at the end of the chapter, so…on with the story!

--------------------

I felt a sudden jolt on my bed and screamed. I hid under the covers and closed my eyes. What if it's a murderer, or someone who's going to rape me? NO! Over my dead body! I grabbed my lamp and through it at the shadow near my bed. The shadow screamed and ducked and I barely missed. Damn it!

"Winry! Stop! It's me, Rose!"

Rose…oh crap!

"I am so sorry!" I hugged my friend tightly.

"What was that all about?"

"Um…I thought you were a murderer?"

Rose cracked up. Ok, so I guess it sounds a bit ridiculous, but I just woke from a dream where I was being chased by Jin with a knife. So I guess that's a bit ridiculous too.

Rose calmed down and put her hands on my shoulders. "It's ok, Winry, it's ok. There are only hundreds of guards around who are all loaded with guns to protect you."

I playfully punched her, "Shut up…so why'd you scare the hell out of me anyways?"

"Well, you know after the whole…scandal thingy with…"

"Yeah, yeah, what about it?"

Rose pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "Well, here's a letter explaining where the new stadium is and all that good stuff. Also the match ups. Can't wait to see who Ed is up against!"

"Yeah…"

Oh no. It's eight. They meet at the stadium at nine. And if I don't talk to him before nine…I have to see him. Now.

"Rose, emergency. We're leaving in two minutes." I hopped out of bed and grabbed a pair of pants and a tank from my dresser.

Rose raised her eyebrows, "What we up to this time?"

"Going to Ed's house, and then we pray that he's there," I explained while struggling putting my clothes on. Why is it that when you're in a hurry, you seem to always have trouble. I finally slipped into my jeans and rushed to the door.

"Grab the letter!" I yelled on my way out. Rose came rushing after me.

--------------------

"Winry, it's been five minutes already. He's not here!" Rose complained. She slumped onto the porch and rested her chin on her hands.

He has to be here. He just has to! It's eight thirty for crying out loud! I mean, come on! It doesn't take a half an hour to get there, right?

"Rose, let me see the letter." I sat down next to her and she handed it to me. I quickly ripped it up and took out the folded paper inside. It read:

_Madame Winry Rockbell,_

_An incident recently happened that must come to your attention. The Arena has blown up caused by one of our contestants. We are now moving to the Eastern Stadium, about thirty minutes east of The Arena…_

"Thirty minutes away from The Arena? That's…that's…that's an hour and fifteen minute trip!"

Rose scratched her head, "He pretty much left before you even woke up."

"Not helping!" I can't believe this! Everything is going wrong! Maybe this isn't meant to be…ugh, this isn't right. I have to talk to Ed.

"Let's go Rose."

"Now what?"

"We're going to the Eastern Stadium a little earlier than we're supposed too."

Rose sighed. "We look horrible though." We both looked down at our clothes. She was right, we looked like crap. I didn't even brush my hair before we left the house. Ugh, I'm a girl. Girls should always know to brush their hair before leaving the house. Ed will think I'm ugly and never talk to me again. This is horrible!

"But whatever, we'll live." Rose smiled. I frowned. I was hoping she would say to go home and get ourselves prepped up, but we don't really have time. I should have prepared!

Ack!

"Shut up Winry!" I yelled out. Rose jumped. Oops…

"Never mind, we're wasting time." I walked past her without looking her in the eye. That was totally embarrassing.

-------------------------

Ok, so this stadium wasn't as nice…fine, it looked like crap. I mean, I can't blame the fact it was made hundreds of years ago. It was made of all wood, and you can tell it's been rusting. It looks as if it hasn't been years since anyway has been here. It was very small too. And the landscaping, well, I can't even call it landscaping. It's surrounded by all weeds.

The inside looked even worse.

Unlike The Arena, the Eastern Stadium wasn't inside. All the stadium has is a fighting area with a bunch of seats around it. There were no luxury boxes to sit in above the stadium where you can see everything, no heart-shaped seats, and I'm guessing there won't be any butlers either.

This bites.

Rose must have been thinking the same thing since she mumbled, "No special treatment anymore. This sucks."

"I hear you."

The stadium looks deserted. I can imagine little tumbleweeds passing by. So where were all the contestants, more importantly, Edward?

"Look!" Rose pointed to all the contestants that were on the bottom row seats, listening to what I'm guessing a referee explaining all the rules of the quarter finals and all that good stuff. I recognized Edward almost instantly, as his blonde braid stood out from the other men.

I scanned the rest of them and identified all but two of the men. There was Edward's brother Al, Roy (who I've yet to learn more about, but hopefully will soon), and a man named Armstrong.

I remember Armstrong. He was such an odd guy. My first impression was a big, tough guy who was all muscle and a huge amount of ego. When he confronted me, he did show off his muscles, but he sparkled. Yes, I'm talking about glittery stars around him and it…it didn't look right.

"My lady!" I remembered him saying. "You are the utmost beautiful girl I've ever met! It would be an honor for you to be a member of the Armstrong family!"

Let's just say it was a bit odd.

That's weird, Jin doesn't seem to be over there.

"We're never going to be able to speak to him," Rose sighed.

"Of course we will! I'm the princess, after all."

Rose quickly followed after me down the set of the creaky, wooden stairs. It made me paranoid that I was going to fall straight through a stair any moment.

We finally made it to the bottom row and rushed over to the contestants.

"Excuse me!" I yelled out.

All of them turned their heads towards me, including Edwards. I locked eyes with him, but I couldn't read them. It was a blanker and confused look more than anything. Suddenly I didn't know exactly what I was going to say to Ed. Hopefully when the moment comes, words will just come to me.

"What are you doing here? You're not allowed to enter the stadium yet!" The ref boasted.

I stepped up into his face and retorted, "Well, excuse you for being rude! That's no way to talk to the princess!"

The referee blushed furiously, now barely recognizing me. I felt pretty offended. He didn't even _recognize_ me; I mean, come on now! I'm the princess!

I need to get out more often.

"Sorry Princess Winry! I didn't, um, I mean…"

"I need to speak to Edward Elric," I cut him off. No need to embarrass him even more.

"Yes, of course! Edward!" the ref turned around. Edward didn't move.

"Princess Winry needs to speak to you," the ref continued. Edward didn't even flinch.

Why wasn't he coming? Now I'm freaking out! Does he hate me now? No, that can't be it. I should be the one hating him. In fact, he should have come to me to talk. This was seriously pissing me off.

"Edward!" I angrily walked over and snatched his arm. He ripped it out of my grasp.

Ouch.

"What do you want Winry?"

"I need to speak to you privately."

"Why are you here? I thought you didn't want to talk to me!"

"Well, now I do. Now if you come over here and we can talk…"

"There's nothing to say!"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Of course there are things to say!"

"Like what?"

"I…I don't understand. Why did you make that bet with Jin?"

"Because I wasn't going to just walk away! He was going to think I'm weak and that's not what you want, right? A man who's weak."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, grow up Ed! You don't have to prove anything. It's Jin for goodness sakes!"

"I couldn't walk away from that bet, though!"

This was getting ridiculous. "I don't get it. Why?"

"Because…because…"

"You're too stubborn for your own good?"

He stood there in silence.

After a few moments he crossed his arms and scoffed, "So what if I am? That's just me so…deal with it."

"You can at least think before you act. I may _never_ get to see you again."

Edward smirked. "That's not going to happen because I'm going to win."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Like you said, it's just Jin for goodness sakes!"

How dare he mock me!

I took out my wrench (don't ask why I always have it with me) and hit him on the head with it. Why must he always have an attitude?

"So you're favoring people now, huh? Shouldn't that be against the rules?" Roy asked.

Shit.

I threw Edward a glare, meaning _this is what you get for not speaking in private_! He seemed to have got the message, because he did that nervous laugh he does when he puts his hand behind his head.

How am I going to answer to this?

"Well, um…it's a long story…"

"That was very rude, don't you think?" Ok, he's on my list.

I still don't know what to say. So what do you do in a position like this?

Stand and stay quiet and hope for the best.

"Now, now Princess Winry. You have to realize that all five of us, and Jin, who decided not to join us, are fighting to be your husband."

"No you guys aren't! You're fighting for power and money! And don't you even dare deny it because you know I'm right! At least Edward is fighting for _me_."

Instead of looking embarrassed, though, he laughed at me.

"What's so funny?" I asked, because I don't find this very funny one single bit.

"While you're busy flirting and hanging out with Edward every single moment you can spare, you haven't even had a simple conversation with any of us. You have no right in saying that, because you don't even know us."

Ok, so he had me there.

"Well, umm…"

Roy sat up and took my hand, "You know I'm right. So for you to make it up…I would like to ask you out on a date."

I practically choked on this. A _date_? Was he serious?

"Um…a date? I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that…"

"Tonight I would like to take you out to dinner. And yes, when I say a date, I mean I want you to get to know me. Understand?"

He was a few inches away from my face and I, pathetically, blushed. I tried to hide it by turning my face, but it was no use. I could tell by Roy's face that he noticed. He was smirking.

"Well, what if you lose today? Wouldn't that ruin the purpose?"

"I _won't _lose," he pointed to one of the men I didn't recognize. I'm guessing that's the guy he's fighting today.

"Do you accept my offer?"

I had to look Edward's direction, see the expression on his face. Was he thinking how crazy this was too? But Ed was looking down.

I looked back up at Roy and his eyes were beaming down straight into my eyes. I couldn't look away.

I couldn't say no.

"Fine, I accept. But it better be a nice restaurant and you better not waste any of my time."

Roy smiled in victory. "Will do."

"What about the rest of us!" Armstrong cut in between Roy and me. "I would love to get to know you also, Princess Winry. It would be an honor if you would go on a date with me as well!"

Ok, this is getting way out of hand!

"Now wait a second here…"

"Me too!" the other man I didn't recognize (not the one that Roy pointed at) shouted.

"I have an idea." Edward stood up finally. Yes! He's going to save me from all this. It took him long enough. Jeez, I thought he was going to be this huge jerk that was going to stand for all this nonsense and…

"How about you go out with the four people who win today? That way you can get to know all of us."

WHAT?!

"We'll all each get a day this week and have a nice evening with Winry here," Roy settled.

I can't believe this is happening. I am not about to go on all these dates! That's what the tournament is for! It's for the one who will go on dates with me all the time, which hopefully will be Edward.

But Roy is right. I should get to know everyone instead of assuming that everyone is only after my money. And there is only one way to find out.

"Fine! I'll date all the winners today this week. And it's _Princess_ Winry to you," I slapped Roy behind the head.

"Now that we have that settled, can we get on with this?" the ref asked. He's been waiting so patiently.

"Yes, sorry about all this. Gentlemen, good luck today and…whatever…" I grabbed Rose's arm and pulled away from them. Once we were out of earshot, I groaned.

"Can you believe this?"

Rose shook her head, "That was absolutely crazy. I mean, did you see the way Roy looked at you? I would have melted!"

I rolled my eyes, "That's not the point. I have to date all the winners this week! What if I don't like one of them?"

"You never know. That person may be the one to win and then you're stuck with them the rest of your life."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm just saying it might be better this way. You'll get to know all of them personally and maybe they won't turn out as bad as you make them sound."

"That's pretty much why I said yes. I mean, I would have said no, but I would have looked like a horrible person. That was so uncalled for. And it's all Roy's fault!"

"Well, you have to do it anyways so there's no reason to mope about it. Here, how about we see who is fighting against whom today."

I nodded and Rose took out the letter she gave me this morning.

I skipped through all the new rules and technical stuff and went straight for the match ups. It read:

Roy vs. Bernard (must be the man that Roy pointed to)

Al vs. Jin (this should be interesting)

Edward vs. Armstrong (Edward better win)

And then there was Neil, who must be the other man I don't know. He was supposed to go up against Scar, but now that Scar is disqualified, he gets a freebie, a pass go, a get-out-of-jail free card.

Lucky for him he gets to not only move into the semi-finals without even fighting, he gets to go out on a date with me.

Which is not so lucky for me.

"Too bad Edward isn't in Neil's place."

"No kidding."

We walked out of the stadium and in the distance we can see crowds of people heading this way. I guess people wanted to get here early so they can get seats. Too bad this stadium isn't as good at The Arena. Everyone is going to be thoroughly disappointed when they get here.

"No point in going home now. Might as well stay and wait until the tournament starts." Rose turned the other direction. I followed.

---------------------

We ended up sitting in the front row. It was a little bit better than the rest of the stadium. They added on cushions for us to sit on so I'm not complaining too much.

When my parents arrived, I decided to ignore them.

"Winry, why are you here so early?" my mother asked.

Silence.

"Young lady, where have you been!" my dad came up next.

Silence.

"We were so worried about you."

"Don't leave the house without are permission! Do you know how dangerous it is for you?"

"You have to remember Winry, you are the princess. People would do anything to get a hold of you."

Psh, I can handle it.

"Winry, answer us!" both my parents exclaimed.

Silence.

Suddenly my father grabbed me by the arm, yanked me out of my seat, and pulled me away from our seats and headed into a quiet area.

"Listen Winry!" he said very sternly. My heart is swelling with nervousness. I've never seen him so angry. I almost feel guilty.

"We care about you. You have no idea how important it is for you to tell us where you are and always have guards with you. We don't do it to torture you; we do it for your safety. Because we care about you."

Ok, so I have a bit of guilt inside of me. But hello? That still doesn't change the fact of last night. Do they think that the whole argument is just going to blow past me?

I don't think so.

"Dad, it's got to go both ways. If you want me to respect you, you have to respect me too. I've grown really close to Ed and yes, I've changed. But that doesn't mean that these changes are bad. Around him, I don't feel like the princess. I'm a normal teenage girl. It's what I've always wanted to be and you never seemed to get that."

I pause to see if my dad says anything.

"Please let me see Ed, he's such a good friend." Besides the fact that he agreed with the whole dating thing today. And besides the fact that I want to be more than friends with him.

"Fine then, you're allowed to see him. Under one condition. Whenever you see him, you _have_ to tell me or there will be consequences young lady!"

I squealed and hugged my dad, "Thank you!"

We found are way back to our seats. The match is just about to begin.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Tournament Winry! It's Henry Tashki once again as your announcer. It's an exciting day, let me tell you, as today is the quarter-finals, which leads up to the semi-finals, and then to the finals, where Winry's husband will be chosen!" The announcer kept on pumping up the crowd with little cheers. Finally he said, "First up is…Al vs. Jin!"

I felt a lump in my throat. I hope Al wins. I truly hope Al wins, but inside of me doubts it. I shake the negative thoughts out of my head. I'm sure Al can win, I mean, the guys made of metal. Surely he can take on Jin no sweat.

Al and Jin appeared onto the arena. Jin only wore some loose pants and no shirt. I hated the way he approached the ring, all cocky. You can tell by his smile that he think he's all that. And Al, well, can't really tell what his expression is, can you?

"Let the fight begin!"

Al lunged straight for a punch in Jin's face, but Jin ducked and tried to trip Al by swinging his legs around towards his, but then Al jumped up and away from Jin. On going the two were throwing punches and kicks.

But you have no idea how fast my adrenaline is going. I mean, watching the two going at it was pretty intense. They were moving so swiftly too, so you had to pay real close attention.

Al kicked Jin onto the floor and ran to the other side of the arena. He kneeled towards the ground quickly and started to draw something on the floor. What's he doing?

Jin was about to rush him before Al slapped his hands onto the drawing and a bright light lit the stadium. It must be alchemy. It's exactly what Edward does. Except Ed doesn't draw anything.

When the light disappeared, Al seemed to be holding some sort of weapon. It was a…sword. Then swiftly Al moved in for his attack. He began swinging at Jin, but Jin was dodging pretty easily. Suddenly, Al swung at Jin and Jin leaned his body and head to the side and caught Al's arm. Jin kicked the sword out of Al's hands, caught the sword, and capped off Al's metal head.

I screamed.

Was he dead? Isn't that illegal? Jin was holding onto Al's body, which wasn't moving. I could hear my breaths quickening. Al couldn't be dead. I was so close to fainting, but then I saw Al's body move. Al was struggling horrendously, as I watched in shock, and as Al was about to grab onto Jin, he stopped. No movement whatsoever. Why did Al stop moving? Jin was barely holding him on the inside of his, what I'm guessing, empty body. How could that possibly cause any harm?

Al then bent on his knees and put his hands up. Was he...forfeiting? You have got to be joking!

I stared in disbelief as Al walked off the arena floor. Damn it! Jin won, making him a step closer to being my husband. I bit my lip as hard as I could. Edward _has_ to win.

I jumped when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Rose, you scared me!"

Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Sorry I guess. You get frightened really easily, you know that?"

I laughed in embarrassment.

She shrugged it off. "Anyways, did you see that? Al just sat there like a doll. He let Jin hold him like that, even though he could have easily shaken him off. I seriously thought Al would win, but forfeiting is still totally beyond me."

"I think everyone can agree with you on that," I pointed out at the crowd. Everyone was murmuring.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said, "it seems that Al has forfeited. Jin is the winner!" Jin waved and blew to kisses to the crowd, and I noticed his little wink at me, before he walked off the floor.

----------------------

Roy won his battle with ease against Bernard. Roy took out Bernard so fast; it was hard to watch Bernard being embarrassed in front of everyone. It made me wonder how he even got this far.

Edward was fighting against Armstrong next. The two walked onto center ice. I laughed when Armstrong tore off his t-shirt and flexed his muscles. He seemed so friendly out there that it was hard to take him seriously.

"And let the fight begin!"

Armstrong was the first to charge. Armstrong's hand extended out in front of him and swung his fist at Edward. Ed dodged, and this kept going for a few minutes. There always seems to be one person throwing punches and another dodging all of them. Edward was about to dodge Armstrong's next punch, but suddenly the metal around his knuckles flung out sharp cones at Ed and Ed was shot back with them. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe properly, but it didn't seem to be helping.

I dared a peek and Ed was still on the ground. Armstrong continued to pierce cones at him, and Ed was still on the floor. The ref was at count six. Ed had four seconds to get up. Ed seemed in very bad condition, but he ended up getting up, looking disgruntled.

Armstrong did the same move, but Edward was able to dodge, and Ed slapped his hands onto the ground and this time instead of a light shining, a fist made out of what seemed to be concrete from the stadium floor came out of the ground and punched Armstrong all the way across the stadium floor and landed on the dirt. The ref began to count the seconds Armstrong was off. Before Armstrong even stood up, Edward was already by him, slapped his hands on the ground again, and Armstrong's hands and legs were engulfed by the dirt, disabling him from moving. Armstrong struggled to free himself from his immobile state. Ed returned to the floor, faced the crowd, and put up a peace sign using his index and middle finger, saying that he was victorious. The ref counted off the final seconds and Ed had won.

I stood up and jumped up and down in excitement, screaming at the top of my lungs. I turned to Rose, grabbed her hands, and we began to jump in circles like children. My dad threw a glare at me and I instantly stopped, smiling innocently at him. It didn't tone down my excitement, though. I looked down at Ed and saw him staring at me with a smile, and then giving me a thumbs up. I nodded his way, trying to look nonchalant and professional, just in case anyone was watching. An even bigger smile crept to my face.

"Princess Winry, please report down on the stadium floor at once. You are needed to speak with the winners," the announcer reported.

My heart sunk, remembering earlier today. I sighed and made my way over. Of course, all my guards at once surrounded me, ready to take action if someone were to attack. I rolled my eyes.

I met with Roy, Edward, Neil, and Jin on the bottom. Wait a minute…Jin doesn't know about this whole ordeal. Oh crap…

"I heard we get to have a date with you Winry. I am just _ecstatic_." Jin smirked. I threw a glare at him and held it. He only enjoyed my attention more. I looked away and scanned the others. I can't believe I'm doing this…

"Ok, so who wants to go first?" I asked.

"I would love to go on a date with you first," Roy said.

"Great," I said monotonously, "who's next?"

"I will," Neil murmured. I was surprised that Neil even talked. He always seems so shy, I'd probably wouldn't mind my date with him.

"Ok, then who?" My heart was fluttering a little by now. I wanted Edward to go last, but Jin had to ruin it.

"I want to go last," Jin smiled. "Leave the best for last."

Edward rolled his eyes, as well as me.

"Fine then, it's settled. Roy, I will see you tonight. Pick me up at six and be sure to take me to the nicest restaurant in town and at least make this worth my while."

"Don't worry, this _will _be worth your while. And who said I was taking you to a restaurant?" I raised my eyebrow in curiosity. I saw Edward throw a quick glare at Roy.

I turned and stalked off before saying another word. This was going to be a long week.

-----------------------

A/N: Ok, I know. A LONG time. I'm _really _sorry. I have no excuse so I'm not even going to throw one out. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this extra long chapter. Sorry about the short fight scenes, they'll get longer as we move into the semi-finals and the finals! Next chapter should be a lot of fun. All the dates! By the way, if there is a problem in this chapter, please let me know. I haven't written in a long time so I could be a little off on some things. Thanks. Holidays are coming up and I'm so excited. I'll post up the next chapter quick as a gift from me. Review!


	14. My Date with Roy

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

Author's Note: Nothing really to say, but sorry I took so long updating. Read on!

-----------------

"Winry! What are you doing?" Rose yelled.

So here I am pathetically sitting in the bathroom. I've been in here for about…an hour. I know, ridiculous right? But I don't want to go! I mean, a date with Roy? That guy acts like a total player, who knows what scary things will happen. I swear, if that guy lays a finger on me…

"I'm breaking the door down!"

"Ok, I'm coming out!"

I cracked the door and stepped outside with a long sigh. Rose, on the other hand, squealed so loudly I thought the bathroom mirrors just might break.

"You look gorgeous! I mean, your dress, your hair! And you didn't even need my help!"

Ok, so the dress was SO not my idea. Rose made me do that, but I chose it out. And it fits my figure pretty well. A simple spaghetti strap does me lots of good. My hair is tied into a curly, loose bun.

"Roy is going to fall for you, that's for sure!

I laughed nervously. That's the last thing I need, a total flirt on my tail. And where is going to take me? As I recall he wasn't planning on taking me to a restaurant.

Then there was a knock on the door and a maid outside of it told me Roy was here. Oh no, I'm nervous! I took one last look in the mirror. I wanted to run in the bathroom and stay in there forever.

Which I did anyways. I ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I told you I was pathetic.

"WINRY! You have to go! It'll be fun, be a bit more optimistic! He's waiting for you, hurry up!"

"I don't wanna!" I whined. Might as well find myself a crib and suck on a lollipop. I'm such a baby.

The door, suddenly, was pushed open and it slammed against the wall, making me jump on top of the counter. Rose had thrown her shoulder into the door according to her stance.

She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me outside the bathroom and we exited the room.

"Rose, please…"

Before I know it, I'm being escorted by Roy to the black carriage carried by two brown horses. Even though I bet his ego was bigger than his head, he looked _amazing_. I tried to shake these silly feelings, but he was gorgeous in his stunning black tuxedo and his eyes were gleaming. Why did he have to be such a man whore?

Of course, I couldn't show I was thinking this. I tried to act uninterested, though I did gawk at him when I first saw him. Did I mention he kissed my hand and told me I smelled good? Oh no, I'm sucked into his charm, aren't I?

He held my hand (his hand had a white glove on with a transmutation circle on it…does he do alchemy too?) as I stepped into the carriage, which included velvet, cushion seats and a lavender scent. I was immediately calmed by the comfortable space, but when Roy came and sat beside me, my heart beat sped up. How come I'm clamming up? This is not me.

"Where are we going?" I suddenly remembered I had no clue where he was taking me.

He smiled, "You'll see."

The coachman started the horses and we were off to who knows where. I started drawing up a list of places. Maybe we'll go to the park and have a picnic, though that sounds too childish. Or we might go to an art gallery, but really, he is so not that type. Where in the world are we going?

"You look nervous," Roy said. He even smirked as he said it, as if he was amused. Was I really a wreck right now or what?

"I'm fine, just…curious," I smiled back.

Oh no. He just put his arm behind me. I repeat, HIS ARM IS AROUND ME. And, even worse, I'm letting him leave his arm there. I should be arrested for this, or put on a time out. I barely said a word to him and he's already making a move. Or am I overreacting?

I need to get a grip.

We're turning, meaning we must have arrived at our destination. I look out the window and see…an ice rink?

"Ice skating?" I ask, absolutely surprised.

"I told you I wasn't taking you to a restaurant."

Ok, now I'm definitely freaking out. I couldn't ice skate even if my life depended on it. It's so much different than regular skating. I always face plant into the hard ice. That wasn't fun.

So here I am, about to embarrass myself in front of a totally hot guy…I need to stop caring so much. How can I dislike a guy who looks so good? He helped me out of the carriage and kept holding my hand. This time I pulled away.

"Not yet buddy," I warned him. He was unfazed. We walked up to the stand that rented out the skates and we both grabbed a pair. Now I know I'm going to eat it. These skates look terrible. I squeezed into mine and once we put them on, we stepped onto the ice.

"I have to warn you," I say as I hold onto the rail while I enter the rink, "I'm a really horrible ice skater." And right when I say that, I trip and fall into Roy's arms and we both fall onto the floor. I'm already off to a great start.

Though my heart is pounding for a different reason. I am seriously inches away from Roy's face, and it is a little too close for comfort. He smiled at me.

"Are you going to get up or do you have something else in mind?"

I crawled off him, because there was no way I was going to stand up without falling on my feet again. He stood up and held out his hand to help me. If I knew how to get up, I wouldn't have accepted his hand because I still haven't forgiven him for that earlier comment.

"You need to lighten up, Winry—"

"_Princess_ Winry," I corrected him when I finally got on my feet. He was holding onto my hand again and this time when I tried to pull away, he held a firm grip. I glared at him.

"Let's start shall we, Winry?"

He ignored me!

We started moving forward small glide by glide. He had to catch me a few times from falling, but I started getting the hang of it. The night air was cool, but comfortable. Roy was also such a…gentleman. Whenever a young lady would fall he would skate over to help them up. To be quite honest, I almost started enjoying myself.

This night is not exactly how I imagined it.

"So how is life up in the castle?" Roy asked. He is also a great listener. He always makes eye contact with you when most guys just stare straight ahead or above you if he's taller.

"It's not as great as everyone would think it is. It's very boring, believe it or not. The only fun thing about the castle is that it's so big that you discover new places, new rooms."

He raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Like what?"

"Well, I found a present room, where all the Christmas presents are hidden. My father had to find another room after that. What else…oh yeah! I found a room with a spa filled with red candles. It was my parents stress reliever because the atmosphere is relaxing in there."

Roy laughed. "I wonder what else they do in there."

I shoved him for his perverted thoughts. He laughed. His voice is also deep and...I'm totally falling for him, aren't I? This is not supposed to happen. I like Edward, remember? Shouldn't I feel guilty?

"Let's go eat."

We took our skates off and when I was heading to the carriage, he grabbed my arm and linked it with his.

"It's a nice night. How about we walk?"

I nodded, but I didn't like the sound of this. At least there were people at the ice rink, but now we were actually _alone_. I don't feel so comfortable anymore.

He started talking about his life in the military. He's been in several different wars, and he started naming his positions, but the names blew over me. As if I know what each one means. I think he mentioned Colonel once, I'm not sure. He talked about how he had a jerk of a general in one war and his men played a prank on him. They took his clothes while he was bathing in a river and they threw every piece of clothing he had in the water. He didn't want to tell me his consequences, though.

"So, did you like any women in the military?" I asked.

His face went grim when I asked though. He stared straight ahead in deep thought. He had mystery hidden beneath his eyes. Even though I would never go through war, I envied him. I envied all his experiences and how he actually did things with his life. It made my life look pitiful and wasteful. What have I done for the world? I'm only known as a princess and some may like to be known as that, but I don't.

I want to be known as something better.

"Here we are!" Roy's face suddenly brightened up as we arrived at the hot dog stand. I laughed nervously. He changed the subject. And why did he choose a hot dog stand?

We ordered our hot dogs (Roy packed his with every topping, like relish and mustard…) and sat down on a near bench. I started talking about how my parents set up everything I do and how my life is totally controlled. I also talked about how all the princesses are completely conceited and spoiled. He laughed when I told him I socked one of them in the face when I was younger for calling me ugly. It's so easy to spill my problems to Roy. Why is it easy for me to talk to him?

After another half an hour of my ranting (though Roy didn't mind), we headed back to the carriage. Before we got to the carriage, Roy turned and grabbed my hands. Oh no.

"So was I that bad? I'm only after your money right?"

I blushed. This is so embarrassing.

"About that…"

He put his finger on my lips to stop me from saying anything else. We stare at each other for a few minutes quietly. I'm holding my breath, nervous of what's going to happen next. And before I know it, his lips are on mine.

I'm completely frozen. I seriously want to stop, but I can't move. I want to pull away, I really do, but his lips are so soft and…he was so kind to me tonight. One kiss won't hurt right?

Roy pulled away and smiled. He had me and he knows it. I suddenly feel like slapping him when I heard the bush behind me move. I turned and saw Edward jump up, twigs hanging from him. He looked frustrated. I stared for a second, to see if I'm imagining things, but I wasn't. Edward was really here, and he just saw me kiss Roy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I screech.

"I can't believe you kissed him!" Edward said. Then I realized.

"You're spying on me? HOW DARE YOU!" I go over and hit him on the head with my wrench.

"Ouch, Winry…that's not the point. You kissed him! And you didn't stop him!" Edward yelled. He then looked over at Roy and sent daggers his way.

"Don't you _ever_ touch Winry again!" Edward bellowed. Roy just smirked.

"So Ed, we're you really that insecure about the relationship you thought you built up with Winry? Or are you spying for different reasons?"

"Roy," I warned, "don't start—"

"At least I care for Winry instead of wanting to get into her pants." Ed retorted.

"You think that's why I went on a date with Winry? I respect her, and believe it or not, I _like _her. At least I treat her like a gentleman."

Roy likes me. And Edward likes me. I have a headache. I can't take this anymore.

I head to the carriage and tell the coachman to take me home. And I leave Edward and Roy to their argument. I doubt they even noticed I left.

-----------------

"He kissed you?" Rose went wide-eyed. I nodded. I was lying down; trying to organize my thoughts, but everything is so complicated right now. Plus I still have three more dates to go.

"Rose! What am I going to do?"

"Do you like Roy?"

There's the million dollar question. I did like Roy, a lot actually. I thought back to our date and realized it was so perfect. He's one to be careful with, though. He takes his job in the military very seriously. And I still haven't found out what the circle on his glove meant. He's also mysterious, just like Edward was when I first met him. Maybe I'm just attracted to mysterious guys who have done so much in their past.

"I don't know," was all I could answer back.

Then there was a knock on my door. "Princess Winry, Edward Elric is waiting for you."

Edward, what was he doing here?

"Want me to send him away?" Rose asked.

I shook my head. "No, it's ok. I have a word or two to say to him anyways."

I went downstairs and confronted Edward with a nasty look. He looked intimidated. I have him right where I want him.

"Explain yourself!" I sneered. He hesitated from saying anything, and then he clenched his fists.

"I don't trust Roy! I know him better than you do and he's been through a lot lately…"

"Like?" I pushed on.

"He's just been through some things that are eventually going to hurt you. I know how he works, and he just went through a tough time—"

"What did he go through?"

"I…can't tell you."

I could feel steam coming out of my ears. "And why not?"

"Because it's military confidential. I'm not allowed to tell you."

I let out a huge sigh. "You're always holding secrets from me Edward. It's getting to be too much."

"I'd tell you Winry! I really would, but I can't. You just have to trust me that it's dangerous to like him. And I'm hurt…I thought…"

He stood there silently.

"Edward…"

"No. Never mind. You like him, don't you? I could tell. I saw everything Winry! I saw you ice skating with him, walking with him and laughing, you ate hot dogs together and…" It was so hard to hear all this. I've never felt so guilty before. I was so caught up with my date with Roy that I never thought clearly of how Ed would feel. If Ed wasn't spying on me, would I tell him about my date? Would I tell him I kissed Roy?

"…and the way you kissed him! I'm sorry for spying on you, but…I've never, _ever_ felt so…hurt. I love you Winry, _love _you. And you…I thought you didn't even want to go on a date with him. I knew he would have you falling for him. Roy is such a…never mind. I've got to go."

"Edward, wait!" But he shut the door behind him and all I could was stare at the empty space in front of me.

I've never felt so alone.

-------------------

A/N: Finally right? Ok, so I'm actually planning the story as I write it. This chapter was a little dramatic, huh? It's so much fun writing it that way though! I mean, deep down, we all think Roy is hot, so we shouldn't be too mad at Winry. I actually want to make it go longer since I have a few ideas in mind. We'll see how it goes. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter and please review! You can throw any criticism my way (like how I took so long to update XD). Thanks for reading!


	15. Three Day Nightmare

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: Oops, I just realized I ended the last chapter just like chapter 7. Real original, right? Well, here's the next chapter everyone and I hope you enjoy (though you probably all hate me right now, hehe).

----------------

The next three days were a total nightmare.

So let's start off with Day 1, shall we?

When Edward left the night before, I was completely depressed. How could I have stooped so low? But when I woke up, I had a turn of feelings. I was angry, and I couldn't help but take it out on others. My blood pulsed through me like a flood, and my anger spread through me just as fast. My first target was Rose.

"Winry? May I come in?" Rose asked. A few things popped into my head at that moment. Why was she always so happy? Rarely do I see her in a crumby mood, so why is that?

"No."

Rose looked taken back. She swallowed, deliberating what to say next. I've told her everything that happened last night and she was a great listener, like always. She did say I shouldn't have kissed Roy, or I should have pushed away. But that is exactly what is bugging me. Why didn't I push away?

"Would you like me to bring any food..."

"Rose, please, leave me alone!" That did the trick. She left without another word.

I groaned and screamed in my pillow. Why did I kiss Roy? Is it because I like him? How can I like him in one day? I'm insane. I stayed in bed for the next few hours, completely unaware of any of today's activities. It's like a trance, this stage I'm in. Rose knocked on the door once more.

"Go away!"

She walked in anyways, biting her fingernails. "He's here."

I looked at her, puzzled. "Edward?"

"No, that one guy from the tournament that you're supposed to go on a date tonight. Or did you forget?" I stared at her for a few moments. Date...oh no. My date with Neil! How could I forget?

"Stall him!" I rushed towards my closet and threw on a pair of jeans and a nice blouse. I hope we're not going anywhere too nice. I tossed my hair into a bun and sprayed perfume on myself. My reflection smirked at me. _You look hideous_.

"Neil, so nice to see you!" I smiled. I quickly closed my mouth, though, because I forgot to brush my teeth. What a mess I am! To make matters even worse, he's wearing a full on black tuxedo with what I'm guessing is his nicest tie. Even his shoes looked shined and his short brown hair was slicked back. I blushed in embarrassment.

"You look...nice," Neil attempted to compliment. I can't even look at him.

"Sorry I didn't dress up. I can quickly change into something nicer," I said after a few awkward seconds.

"Sure, I can wait." Should I take that as an insult?

I rushed upstairs and changed into a red summer dress and some heels. I turned my hair from a birds nest to something someone can at least stand to look at. I brushed my teeth, put a dab of lipstick on, and headed back downstairs. Neil smiled this time.

"Lovely dress, Princess." A real compliment.

"Thank you," I went to his side. He offered me his arm. "Shall we?" I linked my arm with his and went off to dinner.

-------------------

The restaurant we went to is upscale and only military officers and those of the royal family can afford it. The inside has an elegant theme. These types of places make me not want to touch anything. Even the chairs we sat on seem like they're worth as much as a home. The painted soft green walls is the only part that gives this place a warm feeling. I compliment Neil, despite my opinion, on his choice of restaurants.

Neil is also an officer in the military, though he doesn't do field work. He positions people to their right stations and he makes sure everything is on schedule. He's almost a bore, though. All day he's in his office or sending messages to others. Where is the action, the fun? Maybe that is another reason why I'm attracted to both Roy and Edward. Their lives are exciting and the two always bring something new to the table. Neil's life seems too routine.

I keep spacing out on him too.

"Winry, what do you think?" I hear him ask. I bite my lip and look down. I have no idea what he just said.

"I think...that's great?" I say, though it came out more like a question. He furrows his eyebrows. I must of said something wrong.

"Sorry," I mumble, "I didn't hear your question."

His expression turns into an angry one, but just as quickly he smiles. "I asked if you like Roy."

Once again, I look down. Why would he ask me that?

"He's a nice gentleman. He's in the military, as you are."

Neil nods. "Yes, I've worked with him before. One of the strictest I've seen. That man puts his heart and soul into his work. Poor guy has been through horrid things. War isn't pretty, may I say."

I ask, "Horrid things like what?" I hope I do not sound too desperate.

"Nothing a lady needs to hear. Just be careful with him. He has enemies from all over, and you wouldn't want to run into them."

I nod, pretending I understand what he means.

"You went on a date with him yesterday, am I right?"

Oh no. Why does he have to bring this up? "Yes. He took me ice-skating, though I lacked skill."

He laughed. "I'm not that great of an ice skater either." We sat silently for another few minutes.

"What about Edward?"

This has gone on long enough. "Can we please talk about something else?"

---------------------

"Oh Rose, I'm a horrible person! I acted disinterested the entire time. He's no fun, but then again, he probably thinks the same about me after that horrific date!"

Rose, like the good listener she is, sat patiently at the end of my bed. She acted like this morning never happened, which is fine by me. There is at least one problem out of the way.

"I'm sure he had a great time," Rose tried. I shook my head. "I doubt it."

"Tomorrow will be a better day, you'll see! Edward will be your date after all."

I could feel the tears coming. I never cry and here I am whining like I'm three years old all over again. "You should of seen the look on his face, Rose. I never thought of myself capable of causing such pain to a person. But here I am, in full flesh and blood."

"He just needs some time. An apology would help too. Tomorrow you'll make amends with him and have a happy date and all will be swell!"

How very wrong Rose is.

----------------------

I knocked on Edward's front door the next morning. I have to let him know how I feel. Over night I had an epiphany, or just a small realization. I don't like Roy. He is a nice gentleman who is easy on the eyes, but that's it. All I could think of is how much Edward means to me and how I can't go on without him. He has to know that.

I pounded on his door for the next few minutes, each time more desperately. He's not home. That's all. Or maybe he doesn't want to talk to me. None of his lights are on, but it is daytime and bright enough to lighten his entire home. So whether he is here or not, I left feeling troubled and alone once again.

Then I decided to wait. Edward would come and pick me up for my date and surprise me with a bouquet of roses. All will be forgiven. I came home and told Rose to dress me like a princess. Like the princess I am. Her choice was a beautiful white gown that dragged behind my feet. She put on makeup that made my face glow and my blond hair laid nicely over my shoulders. I'm ready to confront him. Now my only job is to wait.

And wait...

------------------

I am an idiot. I dressed in the nicest clothes I own and I get nothing out of it. It's ten thirty at night and still no sign of Edward. He's not coming. And I can't stop crying and pitying myself. So many overwhelming thoughts are flowing that I can't control my emotions. I'm done for.

Edward's gone.

Edward is going to quit the tournament, Jin will win, and I will be forever bound to his side. I'm going to be married to Jin. The idea was sickening. I think out of all the times I have made Edward angry, this has pushed him over the ledge. I don't think anything I say to Edward will bring him back. The only things I have to calm my nerves are the scented candles lit in my room.

I also have to go on a date with Jin tomorrow. That just brightens up my day. He will probably take me out to an extremely pricey restaurant, criticize the waiter, and brag how he's going to win the tournament. Jin is all too...predictable. I hate him.

How can I get out of this?

-------------------

"Jin's here," Rose said. I went for the I-don't-give-a-crap look. I look exactly the same as I woke up. Including my pajamas.

"Oh Winry, go get dressed. I can't be seen with my princess looking like that," Jin criticized. Behind his gorgeous hair, eyes, and tux, he was still a big pain in the ass.

"First off!" I snapped. "I am _not_ your princess. Not now, not ever. Second, I can look like whatever I want because I can. What are you going to do about it?" I glared at him for few seconds and when I was about to end off my rampage with a brush on his shoulder, he threw me over his shoulder so quickly I completely forgot everything that was happening. He dragged me up the stairs and down the ugly red and gold halls towards my room. I kicked and screamed in embarrassment. He was making me look like a fool in front of all our staff.

"Put me down now!" I yelled. I can almost see his disgusting smirk. I know he finds this all amusing.

"Now if you quit whining and dress like a normal princess, we can be going." He dropped me on the bed, kissed me on the cheek, and went for my closet. Who does he think he is?

"How about this?" He chose the same white dress I wore yesterday. I could of sworn I threw that in the trash.

"Absolutely not. I'm not going to change so if you'll excuse me, I'll be waiting in the car." Jin caught up to me and together we strode down the stairs and outside. It was a beautiful evening. The jasmines scent sooths me a bit, and the clouds in the shape of a smiley face give me some hope that the tonight will go fast.

"So what are the plans?" I asked. Jin smiled.

"I thought we should go dancing." My jaw dropped as well as my heart. Dancing? Just like Edward and I did at the ball before after the preliminaries. Is everything going to remind of Ed? I shook my head and stared out the window.

"Fun," I said, not bothering to hide my sarcasm. Jin put an arm around me, but I didn't bother brushing him away. For now, I just want to feel wanted.

"It'll be great. I chose an outdoor restaurant that has a large dance floor and get this, even a disco ball."

I studied him because he was acting so strange. Jin was actually trying to _cheer_ me up. Did someone drop him on his head? Or did a train hit him?

"Are you talking about The Blissful Rose?" I asked. I've heard rumors of the place, known for it's great jazz performances and chocolate cake. I also heard it was impossible to get into.

"The one and only. It was a mess trying to get reservations, but I have my ways."

"Let me guess: you flattered one of the waitresses, you threatened the escort, or do you actually have nice ways of persuading others? I'd really like to know." I felt his arm stiffen around me, but he grew relaxed.

We arrived and pulled into V.I.P. Parking. I could tell why The Blissful Rose was so hard to get used to. All dining was outside with a white fence surrounding the area. And the roses were amazing! I've never seen so many in my life! They ran along the fence, vines spread across the white wood, each table had a set of red and white roses, even the dance floor was surrounded with the stunning flowers. It reminded me of my own garden and how I haven't been in it for a very long time.

"Wow," was all I could put into words.

"I know." Jin and I followed the waitress (who was a little too close to Jin; maybe I was right about the persuasion) to our table. Jin sat across from me, which was quite funny for the roses covered his entire face. Maybe I'll have a good evening after all.

To my misfortune, though, Jin asked the waiter to take the roses away and Jin was able to make direct eye contact.

"You should try the Chicken Parmesan," Jin recommended. Jin took his own suggestion and I ordered the BLT sandwich with fries. Jin raised his eyebrow.

"Interesting choice." I stayed quiet.

"Would you like to dance?" Jin asked. I nodded. Might as well get it over with sooner than later.

He brought me to the stage and pulled my arms around his neck. I'm so under dressed for this. He rested his hands on my waist and all the butterflies in my stomach fluttered. I felt instantly guilty and paranoid, looking around to see if Edward was spying again. I do not think he is, though. I think he's done with me.

Jin pulled me closer and leaned into his chest. Not because I was in the moment, but because I wanted to hide my face. Tears pooled out of my eyes and I didn't want to explain to Jin, so I stayed in this position for the rest of the dance.

Either Jin didn't notice or he decided against his better judgment, since he didn't seemed fazed by my sad face. I managed wiping all my tears, but you can still tell that I weeped. Our dinner arrived and I ate quietly and to my surprise, Jin made no word of discussion. He was still acting strange.

After a nice two hours, we went back to his car. He casually had his arm around my shoulders. If anything, I should at least try to be friends with him. I was so sick of the game we keep playing that maybe it's time we finally forgive and forget.

The chauffeur closed my door and we started back to my house.

"Jin, listen. I think..." Before I got to finish, his mouth was on mine. I tried to push him off, but he held my head in his hands and his body was on top of mine. I couldn't push him off.

"Get...off...me!" I cried. Jin pulled away, breathing heavy. I pulled my knees to my chest and cried. I'm so stupid. Once again, I was reeled in to the world I keep creating, but I keep getting smacked with reality. Of course he's still an asshole. I can't believe I let myself grow close to him, believing he just might change.

"What's wrong with kissing you? You act like you're five or something," Jin groaned. He tried to kiss me again, but I thrusted him to the window with all my might. He punched his left eye and he cried out in pain.

"What the hell!"

"I hate you!" I yelled, throwing as many punches as I could. He grabbed my wrists and stared into my watery eyes.

"I'm going to win, you know. Edward will just become a past memory that you'll look at from time to time. Might as well get used to us together now."

I truly don't want to believe him, but at this point, anything is possible. I tear away from his eyes because I can see that he sees me giving in. He lets go and sits back on his side of the car.

"Sorry I got on you like that," Jin whispered. "Next time I'll be more gentle."

The _next time_ hit me like bricks falling on my head. We arrived at my estate and I ran out of the car and into my home as fast as I possibly could. Rose called after me, but I ran straight to my room and locked the door. Like I said, the past three nights have been a living nightmare. Tonight I only have one wish.

To have Edward back in my life. Because without him, everything falls apart.

_Please go to the semi-finals, Edward. Please forgive me._

-------------------

A/N: I know this chapter was depressing, but what did you think would happen? Edward was just going to forgive her:P Next chapter will be the semi-finals and a whole lot of craziness :D! Please review and thanks for all the reviews from last chapter! I was so happy!! Hopefully next chapter will cheer you all up (or maybe it won't, dun dun dun!).


	16. The Semi Finals

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

A/N: I rewrote this chapter (I do that a lot). It's funny how different this story becomes. Have you noticed the change in dialogue since the first chapter?

School is going to start soon and I'm both sad and excited. At least I'll be doing more with my day. But seriously, back to school signs are everywhere and it's quite depressing. The best part of it all, though is…shopping! - I'm such a girl!

------------------------

"He's not going to show up, is he?" I asked.

So Rose and I are at the new crappy stadium (what a bad oxymoron) ordering our third coffee. Ok, fine, my third and her first. We had to be here ridiculously early, six A.M to be exact. Plus I didn't get any sleep due to the chance Edward may not show up. I've been fretting all morning and I can't seem to stop moving. Edward isn't even here yet.

"I'll kick his ass if he doesn't come, don't worry. Besides, he wouldn't leave you with Roy or Jin. He hates them both and plus, he hates losing."

I nod even though I'm not convinced. I still think he's given up on me. I don't blame him. I mean, what if I saw him kissing another girl? Even worse, any of the princesses? How would I react?

I take too big of a sip and burn my tongue. I sigh. "Rose, I really hope you're right."

Behind me I hear loud footsteps. They sound like metal. I turn and see Al walking by himself. If Al's here, does it mean Ed's here? I run over to him to find out.

"Hey Al!" I wave at him. I see him stare at me with the same expression he always has. It's not his fault he can't show any emotion in his face. I wonder what he looked like when he was younger. I tried to imagine a younger version of Edward and giggled.

"Hi Winry!" Al exclaimed. Does he know what happened between me and Edward? You'd think Ed would tell his own brother.

"Is Ed here?" The moment I've been waiting for.

"Yeah, he's right behind you." I furrow my eyebrows at Al. He points and I turn around. Edward was walking towards us in his usual red jacket and long braid. Something was different about him, though. His face was scrunched up, his fists were balled up, and he looked very angry. This wasn't my Edward.

"Um…Ed?" I wasn't sure what to say because of the shock. I swear he looks a few years older right now. Is this because of me? I feel like shrinking so know one can see me.

"What?" he says in a monotonous voice. Did the air just get tenser? Al shifted uncomfortably next to me.

"I'm, um…I'm really glad you came."

"Before you get any ideas, I didn't come for you. The only reason why I'm still doing this is because I can't let Jin win. That bastard will get what he deserves. I don't think you know how long I've been waiting to fight him." I shivered. He gave a dirty smirk that was filled with…hunger. "And when I win, you can do whatever you want. Go marry a rich guy for all I care, though you already have all the money you need. Maybe he'll put up with your crap just like I did." He bumped my shoulder and walked away.

I caught up to him, grabbed his shoulder, and turned him my way. "You act like you haven't made any mistakes. Remember the deal you made with Jin? Sorry, but I don't seem to recall you telling me about it. I had to find out through Jin. You didn't even consider my feelings! And I know what I did was horrible Ed, but everyone makes mistakes."

Edward's eyes looked intently at me as he scrutinized my words. He threw my hand from his shoulder and said, "Don't touch me! What I did is nothing compared to what you did. Do you realize how much I hate Roy? If it were any other person, I'd be fine, but _Roy_? Come on, Winry! You kissed him right in front of me. I bet you wouldn't even have told me, would you?" I looked down at my feet. "Exactly. So don't give me 'you didn't even consider my feelings.'"

I rolled my eyes. "It was just one kiss! I'll admit I had fun with him, but my goodness! You're flipping out over a simple little thing! Stop being so melodramatic and get over yourself!"

"Sorry Winry, but I can't just let that go. You're a liar if you say you didn't have any feelings for Roy when you kissed him. I spied on you the whole date, so you can't put anything past me."

I fumed, "Haven't you ever heard of the saying curiosity kills the cat?"

"But at least I know the truth!"

"And what may that be?" I asked wryly.

"That you can be a bit disloyal. You don't think things through very well and you get caught up in moments too quickly. How am I supposed to know that you won't do it again?"

"I would never cheat on you!"

"Imagine me going on a "friendly" date with Rose and kissing her at the end. How would you feel if I kissed Rose in front of you?"

I crossed my arms, "I wouldn't care." I also crossed my fingers.

"Oh really?" Ed pushed past me and started walking towards Rose.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked frantically.

Edward swooped Rose into his arms and cupped her face with his hands. He smirked at me when I dropped my jaw. He then pushed Rose's bangs back and kissed her. I'm not talking about a peck either. He was full on making out with her. Rose stood shocked, not really knowing what to do. I ran to the two and shoved Ed off her.

"How dare you!" I yelled. Rose had her eyes wide-opened, as if she was petrified.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Ed said. "Well, now you know how it feels."

He stalked off and I didn't stop him. I was so angry at him…how he took advantage of Rose just to prove a point. But he was right. Want to know how I really was feeling when Edward kissed Rose?

All the air in my lungs left me and the three cups of coffee I drank this morning were coming up to my throat. I actually felt like crying, even though I knew it wasn't a real kiss. He slapped me into reality, making me realize how big of a mistake it was to kiss Roy. It was a big deal and I… didn't think it would get this bad.

I'm such a bitch. A hard, cold bitch who doesn't care for others feelings. I even changed Ed. He no longer has his kid face and golden eyes. I remember making eye contact with him through our argument. His eyes didn't glow like they always do. They were a dark brown with hints of golden swirls. The way he spoke scared me. I was actually _scared_ of him.

Ed and I are very alike. We are both stubborn and neither of us is going to give the other the benefit of the doubt. And we're both assholes.

Rose edged toward me cautiously. "Winry, I'm so sorry. I swear…"

"I know you didn't mean it." I drew in a deep breath and sighed.

"Ed and I are through," I said sourly.

--------------------

Rose and I are sitting in the front row. Somehow I managed to pull myself together. I went into the bathroom and washed my face thoroughly. I remember looking in the mirror thinking at about lightning speed. Do I really get caught up in moments a lot? Was my kiss with Roy really that big of a deal? Can't Ed just move on? I'm past his kiss with Rose.

Sort of.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today is the day we've been waiting for! We're almost to the finals after a long and hard tournament for our fighters. Welcome to the semi-finals!" The crowd goes wild. It's amazing how big the tournament became after it started. "First up are Jin and Neil." The two came to the center of the arena. A group of girls had "I Heart Jin" t-shirts on and soon I recognized them. They were Princess Molly, Amy, and Umi. I stared at them in disgust.

"Let the fight begin!" And the two charged each other.

Their punches were harsh and fierce. Soon blood was dripping from their faces. They were smiling too. Boys will be boys.

Neil grabbed something from his back pocket and threw it at Jin. The object hit Jin in his left arm and I realized it was a knife. The crowd gasped. Jin pulled it out and threw it to the floor, the metal sinking through the touch concrete. I dropped my jaw, astounded by Jin's strength. Neil also looked at him in shock. I could see Jin grow angry. He pulled a sword from his sheath and pointed the sharp blade at Neil.

Why didn't I see the sheath there before? And when did Jin use a sword? Neil drew out a sword as well and clashed it with Jin's. I'm stunned. Jin handles his sword well. He blocked all Neil's thrusts with ease. That's when I realized Jin was just putting on a show for the crowd. He can defeat Neil easily right now. But he had to show off.

Stupid, conceited idiot.

Jin blocked Neil once more and flung his sword toward his leg. Blood splattered and Neil cried out in pain. He kneeled to the floor wincing and breathing hard. I gritted my teeth when Jin picked up Neil by the hair and raised him up to show him to the crowd. Everyone cheered him on. If you haven't noticed already, he's a total pig. Jin threw a punch right in Neil's face and he flew to the wall right in front of me. Jin saw me staring at him and he licked his lips. I glared at him until the final tenth count was finished and Jin was announced the winner. It is funny how easily Jin made it to the finals. Can Ed really beat him?

I turned to the Champion's Seats and saw Ed smirking and actually_ applauding_ for Jin. What is wrong with him? When I face forward, Jin is standing right in front of me.

"You impressed?" Jin asked.

I scoffed, "Oh please. Don't flatter yourself."

Jin smiled. "You're actually flattering me. I saw you staring. Don't lie. There'll be much more coming to you. Especially when I kick Ed's ass in the finals."

"I believe it's the other way around."

"I can see the fear in your eyes, Winry. You don't think Edward's going to win, do you? Don't worry. You'll have me to take care of you _forever_." He knows he hit me hard with that last statement. I spit in his face. It landed on the corner of his lip. Instead of him getting upset and whiney like I expected, he licked the spit and swallowed. Gross.

He walked out of the arena and the announcer came back on stage. "Wow, what a fight! Jin, once again, won! If I were you folks, I'd place my bets on him!" The crowd erupted in laughter. I looked at Rose and saw she had the same expression as me. How was that funny?

"The next fight is between Edward and Roy and trust me; you don't want to miss it. It will start in a half an hour so let's be quick getting refreshments." Many stood up to head to the food area. I stayed put and kept on watching Edward.

He was stretching (with his shirt off) and looking amazing. It wasn't fair! Am I ever going to forgive myself? I raised my eyebrow when I saw Jin go to Ed and start talking. Ed didn't look at Jin once, but he didn't mind to be talking to him. It was getting extremely annoying. He looks so nonchalant in the conversation I want to strangle him. What are they talking about?

My anger rose up again. Doesn't Edward realize that the kiss meant _nothing_? I don't even like Roy that way. I'm staring at him right now and I don't even get butterflies or blush.He may be hot, but what does Ed take me for? I would never stoop so low to drop him for Roy. Like Ed said, I was just caught up in the moment. Shouldn't he understand?

"I didn't know Jin uses a sword," Rose said after a long silence.

"Me neither." Rose got up to grab us sodas. I slunk in my seat and kept staring at Ed. It was just so hard to imagine that he'll never hug me like he used to or worse…he'll never kiss me again. He looked up at me. I was surprised to see his face soften, but from here I can see his eyes are still an ugly, murky brown. I looked down, not knowing how much longer I can take this.

-------------------

Roy and Ed stepped onto the platform and waved to the crowd. Both also had fan girls. I'd have to deal with Edward's group later. Ed blew a kiss to the girls and they swooned. I choked up my drink. Is Ed trying to piss me off?

I saw Ed look at me and mouth, "How does it feel?"

Are you kidding?! I considered asking the referee to trade spots with Roy so I can show Ed what pain _really_ feels like. Rose put her hand on my shoulder so I would settle down. I released my grip from my leg. I didn't even realize I was doing that.

"Begin!"

Roy snapped his fingers and a spiral of fire blew in Edward's direction. Ed jumped out of the way and slapped his hands to the floor. The arena floor erupted and threw Roy up into the air. Roy did a back flip in the air and landed hard on the floor. The crowd clapped and whistled.

Roy once again snapped his finger and more fire rushed Ed. Ed did a good job of dodging the inferno, but how long can he keep doing that? Ed dodged to the left, falling to the floor, wincing at his blazing jacket. He threw it off along with his undershirt. He was going to fight shirtless. Even though he looked incredibly hot right now, it was a disadvantage. Now he doesn't have much protection from the fire.

Roy smiled and instead of snapping his fingers again, he rushed Ed and threw a couple a punches at him. Ed used his metal arm to block his hits and with his other arm, he hit Roy in the chest. Roy stumbled back, but regained composure fairly quickly. The two huffed for a few seconds before going at it again.

Ed rolled to the side and slapped his hands to the floor, creating a wall around Roy. I couldn't see inside it since the wall was too high, but I heard the crowd gasp and then sigh in relief. The announcer said, "Wow! Ed could have killed him. Spikes surrounded Roy and then shot at such a great speed. Luckily Roy ducked in time before one of those nasty things pierced him. Sorry for those on the bottom who missed the action!"

I dropped my jaw. Was Edward insane? Was he trying to get disqualified? He has to fight Jin before he does something stupid and irrational like _killing_ Roy. If he pulls that off, I'll never let him forget it.

Roy put the wall into flames and suddenly they were twirling like a scorching tornado. How he's doing this? I have no answers. The twister flies to Ed and I squeal. Ed falls to the ground in pain. I put my hand over my lips and scream even louder when Roy pulls out a gun and shoots it at him. Were guns even allowed at the tournament? I guess you can ask the same thing about the swords.

He misses the first time, but Roy's second blow hits Ed in his automail. Ed gets a really worried look on his face as Roy gets closer. Is this it? Am I really going to get stuck with Roy or Jin? I watch in such anxiety that I'm on my feet.

Roy smiles and raises his hand up, "Any last words, Fullmetal?"

Edward only smirks. "Go ahead. Kill me."

I kick my soda can as hard as I can to the wall and growl in frustration. How could Ed say that? Is he kidding? Please tell me he's kidding! I drove him so far to the edge he actually asks for Roy to kill him? This better not be about me or I'll…I'll…oh I'll make him pay! And Roy! If he kills Edward, I'll come after him. And I'm keeping my word on that.

"Nothing to live for?" Roy smirked. Ed shook his head.

"I've got plenty to live for. Just seeing if you have the guts to kill me."

I threw my hands in the air and slumped back into my chair. They're both insane.

Roy scowled, "Fine." And right as he's about to snap his fingers (I'm shielding my eyes), the sky thunders. Everyone in the stadium look up at the dark clouds that must have formed during the fight. Soon drops came down on everyone. I started laughing. The irony in this was killer. Now Roy couldn't use his fire or it would be put out (A/N: I thought this part in the show was really funny).

"Ha! What now Roy? Going to use your gun on me?" At that moment Roy did exactly that; he pulled out his gun. Ed is such an idiot to give him that idea. Roy put his finger on the trigger. Then something I really didn't expect happened: Ed put both his hands on the gun and it combusted into pieces. I gawked in amazement. There are just surprises within everyone.

"Why you!" Then Roy tackled Ed and the two started wrestling like five year olds. The sight seemed to humor the rest of the crowd, and many young boys were cheering them on. I, on the other hand, was more embarrassed than anything else. First the two were so close to killing the other, now they roll around on the floor like animals?

"Get off of me!" Ed yells while shoving Roy away. The two heave in and out.

Ed yells, "Why did you kiss her?" I shrink lower in my sink. This can't be good.

"Maybe because I like her."

"But that's not good enough. You knew I _loved_ her, and you did that right in front of me. You knew I was there." I grimaced. He used the word _love_ in past tense. Then I realized something else. Roy didn't kiss me because he liked me...he kissed me to make Ed jealous. I was fooled.

"That bastard," I whispered.

Ed continued, "And I know you don't like her that way. Especially if she found out about…forget it. I know you still love Riza. She still can be out there…"

"Shut up!" Roy yelled. "You don't know anything! Don't every mention her again, got it?" What was he talking about? Does this have something to do about his shady past? The one Neil was telling me about (though he refused to go into detail about it)? "And actually, I really do like her Ed! But I did like the look on your face when we kissed. Winry is…delicious." That was such a Jin thing to say that I felt like puking.

"You don't deserve her."

Roy grunted, "Why don't we just ask her ourselves?" The two walked over to the edge of the ring, side by side. I blushed. What were they doing?

Roy asked, "Winry, who do you choose? Edward or me?"

"Ed," I answered without a second thought. I blushed, realizing how quickly I answered the question. I wasn't kidding when I said I would never stoop low enough to leave Edward for Roy. Ed looked at me in shock.

Roy smiled, "Very well then. I'll let Ed move on to the finals, though we'll see if he is strong enough to beat Jin."

"Of course I'm strong enough!"

"Then you'll have to prove yourself, Fullmetal," Roy turned to walk to the referee.

"Wait! We have to finish our fight!"

Roy knelt down in surrender. "You've already won," Roy said while looking at me. I blushed and looked down. The referee threw his hands up in the air, signaling Roy's forfeit.

"It seems that Roy is surrendering after his encounter with Winry. Poor guy, seems Winry has already chosen who she wants to win. Ladies and gentlemen, Edward Elric is the winner! Jin and Edward will be fighting in the finals next week and trust me, you don't want to miss it."

Ed was already half way across the stadium. I jumped the wall and ran to Edward. I wanted a word with him. I stood in front of Ed, looking straight into his eyes. I sighed with relief when I saw they were back to their beautiful color.

He tried to push past me, but I threw my hands on his chest to make sure he stayed where he was. He looked taken aback. I exhaled, "Edward…I just wanted to say congratulations and…I'm really sorry. I really do choose you and only you. You mean more to me than anything else in the world. I know I can't take the kiss back, but I would if I could, if it means anything."

I paused, looking into his eyes. Nothing. "I'm pretty screwed up. I already messed with your head once. I didn't even believe that you had the chance to win. I'm horrible! You don't have to forgive me Ed, but I just want you to know I am genuinely sorry."

I waited for him to say something, but he stayed silent. I continued, "I know our relationship has its rough edges, though I don't know if you'd say we have a relationship anymore. Nonetheless, I would like to fix your arm. Come to the shop tomorrow, please."

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. He then sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, Winry. You're right, you really do mess with my head. I just don't know if I can take it anymore. You never seem to have enough faith in what we have…I can't deal with that. I mean, I can't believe you fell for what your dad said; that I was going to lose and this was all just going to be a silly memory." I flinched, realizing Jin said the same thing to me. And I also believed Jin. Guilty as charged. "Then you go and kiss Roy...I know it didn't mean anything, but..." He trailed off. I swallowed.

"I'll come tomorrow because I do need some repairs. We need to talk things through and um, I don't think this is an appropriate place." I looked around and saw that everyone was staring at us. I blushed a bright red crimson. Ed turned to go, but I yelled, "Wait!"

He turned back and waited. I bit my nail. "I just want to know…where do we stand now?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

I sighed. I hope I get more answers tomorrow. But tonight, I have to sleep with a guilty cloud over my head. I walk back to Rose, nearly at tears. I finally know one of my biggest flaws:

I'm completely gullible.

I believe everything people say and succumb to words so easily. Why can't I find my own opinion and stand on my own two feet? I know I have a good head on my shoulders, but what good will it be if I believe everything people tell me? My father convinced me Ed would lose and I should leave the relationship before it got ugly. Jin persuaded me that he was going to win and Ed would just be a memory. Roy even seduced me into his arms.

I can't believe I put Ed through so much.

I wiped a few tears away and tried to find some dignity. From now on, I was going to stand by myself. I wasn't even going to let Edward or Rose get to me. My opinion is the only one that matters and I'm not going to be a pushover any more. I won't let my own problems affect Edward like they used to. He doesn't deserve it. And to be honest, I don't think he deserves me.

But I think we both deserve some explanations. Tomorrow we'll finally sum up everything, and wherever we leave off, whether on good terms or bad, I'll be strong. I've learned a lot about myself throughout this tournament, and I want to leave this journey with my head held high. Even if Ed and I don't work things out, at least he's taught me a few things about myself. I'm going to fix my mistakes and actually learn from them this time.

It's the least I can do for Edward.

--------------------

A/N: This chapter was so fun to write. I had a lot of dialogue between Ed and Winry (sorry about Ed not being in the last chapter, hehe), plus I got to write two fight scenes. This chapter was pretty exciting and quite long. No fluff, though XD. The story is coming to an end soon, only about three or four chapters left (and I'm serious this time). Thanks for reading everyone, it's been two years since I've started this (wow…how can I let myself not update sooner?) and I'm still gaining support. You all rock!


End file.
